Homeland season 6 teased, season 8 will probably be the last

Executive producer Alex Gansa also revealed the fate of Rupert Friend's character, Peter Quinn

(AP)

The upcoming season of Homeland - the Showtime series' sixth - was recently pushed back to January 2016 meaning details have been sparse.

Front and centre of the next instalment - which begins shooting in New York next week - will be president-elect Elizabeth Keane (Elizabeth Marvel, House of Cards' Heather Dunbar) during the 70-day period between Election Day and her inauguration.

Variety reports that executive producer Alex Gansa and actors Claire Danes (Carrie Mathison) and Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson) attended the Television Critics Association panel where they teased what's to come.

Quinn is alive

Despite season 5 leaving his fate in the balance, Rupert Friend will be returning as trained assassin Peter Quinn. Gansa said: "Quinn is alive, but we want to be careful; he suffered a major stroke and his very existence was in question." Gansa teased he would be "very altered" this season.

Carrie is unlikely to rejoin the CIA

Instead, she's in New York working as an advocate for Muslims who've been mistreated at the hands of domestic law enforcement. Danes believes, however, that she has "...a bigger agenda that she’s not admitting to fully.

It's more 'on the pulse' than ever

In a bid to keep things current, Homeland's producers have once again journeyed to Washington, D.C. to discuss prevalent issues with government officials. “We talked about the Iran nuclear deal, so that’s a fairly big part of the show, and also about how law enforcement in this country is treating the Muslim community right now, and how they’ve been treating the Muslim community since 9/11.”

Elizabeth Keane is not Hillary Clinton

Another way in which Homeland appears to echo real life is in its inclusion of a female presidential candidate - not that she's strictly intended to be anyone in particular. “She’s a little bit Hillary, a little bit Donald Trump, a little bit Bernie Sanders,” Gansa stated.

Dar Adal is still lurking

The shady character played by F. Murray Abraham is back and - paired with Berenson - will take charge briefing Keane on the realpolitik of national security crises alongside Berenson. On Dar Adal, Gansa said: “[He's] the ultimate barnacle on the side of the intelligence ship, and probably the most threatened by Elizabeth Keane. He’s a firm believer that the ends justify the means.”

Carrie and Saul are still at odds

...which isn't to say their bond isn't as strong as it's ever been. Danes commented on their relationship: “There has been a split that they’ve been working on repairing over the course of the past couple of seasons. I think that Saul has committed himself even more fully to the agency, and Carrie rejects some fundamental principles of it. They are so profoundly bonded, that’s not anything that they will be able to rid themselves of, nor would they want to. She’s matured into a very different place from where he has...".

Season 8 will likely be Homeland's last

Recently, the series was renewed for two more seasons beyond its sixth - and Gansa believes this could well be its final outing. Speaking after the panel, he said: "We asked ourselves how many years can we keep this going and keep the quality up? We said seven or eight seasons sounded about right."

Homeland season 6 will air January 2017