Showtime's Homeland is shaping up to be one of the more promising action series of the fall. The cable network has released a new 90-second trailer to whet fan appetites for the new thriller.

If you're unfamiliar with the new show, Homeland follows a U.S. marine who's been held as a POW in Iraq for years. After he's rescued and sent home, a female CIA operative suspects that he's been turned and is preparing to aid terrorists in attacking the United States.

Stardust's Claire Danes is taking point as CIA analyst Carrie Anderson, who suspects that Sergeant Brody (Damian Lewis - Band of Brothers & Your Highness) is more than he seems. Her manager is played by former Criminal Minds boss Mandy Patinkin.

In what's either a smart bit of editing or some timely luck, the trailer opens with a team of Special Forces raiding a middle-eastern compound - making it hard not to recall the recent raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. Brody is revealed, looking like Edmond Dantes after fourteen years in the Chateau Dif.

While the armed forces celebrate and the media swoons, Anderson sits on her small chunk of terrorist intelligence: "An American prisoner of war has been turned." She believes that Brody's rescue and return were orchestrated by the terrorists to implant an operative deep within the United States. Her superiors, including Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), are not convinced.

Check out the trailer here:

While you're at it, watch a few minutes of the pilot here.

Homeland comes from 24 executive producer Howard Gordon. That being said, there's not much action in this trailer beyond the first few seconds - in fact, it looks more like a remake of The Manchurian Candidate than a staple Fox anti-terrorist show. The trailer lends credence to the idea that Homeland will focus on suspense and tension rather than gunfights and fireworks, at least for the first few episodes.

The inclusion of the military raid in the trailer implies some welcome themes around political debate. It's possible that ripped-from-the-headlines issues regarding surveillance and 4th Amendment rights, military use of torture, or even Wikileaks-inspired intelligence leaks, will make an appearance in the first season.

We won't have to wait long to find out. Homeland is scheduled for a fall 2011 debut on Showtime.

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Source: Deadline Hollywood