Discover the most popular TV show the year you were born

2012: Homeland

Homeland is a Showtime spy series starring Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a CIA office with bipolar disorder, and Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine sniper. Mathison is convinced that Brody has been “turned” and brainwashed by the enemies after he was held as a prisoner of war by al-Qaeda. She worries that he’ll pose a threat to homeland security in the United States, and has to do something before it’s too late. The following seasons all evolve from that storyline, and Homeland is now going into its eighth and final season.

Like the other shows on this list, Homeland has been a critics fave over the years. The first two seasons especially were universally praised, with critics zeroing in on the performances of Danes and co-star Mandy Patinkin. It has won several awards, including the 2011 and 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and the 2012 Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Danes has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice, while supporting cast members like Mandy Patinkin and Rupert Friend (among others) have all gotten Emmy nominations, too.

The show has had high ratings ever since it premiered — and was actually Showtime’s highest-rated drama premiere in almost ten years — but it will be coming to an end in 2019. All good things must come to an end eventually!