Surprise! Homeland's Sixth Season Premiere Drops Weeks Ahead of Schedule

Homeland's much anticipated sixth season premiere stealthy arrived early for Showtime subscribers, weeks ahead of its previously announced Sunday, Jan. 15 date. Coming almost a year to the date after its last new episode on Dec. 20 of last year, Homeland's new season kicked off Friday with an episode available on formats including the Showtime streaming service, Showtime on Demand, Showtime Anytime and Hulu.Homeland's Claire Danes reveals what Carrie will bring to New York in Season 6Tackling Islamaphobia -- and moving to New York -- this season, Homeland gets underway in the hazy period between the presidential election and the inauguration, with president-elect Elizabeth Keane (Elizabeth Marvel) grappling with domestic and international threats. A trailer released in mid-December offered a glimpse into how Carrie (Claire Danes) becomes a defender for Muslim Americans before being thrust back into the role of counter-intelligence, a trailer that of course didn't come anywhere close to answering all the looming questions we had after Season 5. With the first episode already here, though, we're on our way to figuring it all out -- especially what's happening between Carrie and the very-much-alive Quinn (Rupert Friend). (Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS, one of Showtime's parent companies.)Homeland's Season 6 premiere is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 15 at 9/8c on Showtime.