Homecoming
So, my journey with Homecoming was an unusual one... One of the really early cycles, I was fully prepared to cut it because I had never heard of it. I had a request or two to spare it, so I changed my mind at the last minute and that was that. Fast forward to about two weeks ago when I was scrolling though all my streaming platforms due to maternity leave/quarantine boredom. When “Homecoming” popped up as something I might be interested in and I saw it was only 10 episodes, I figured it would be a good show to check out. I didn’t even realize that the episodes themselves were only about 25-30 minutes each. I think I wound up binging the whole thing in under a day. I actually didn’t know until just now as I’m on the Wikipedia page that the show was based off of a fictional podcast that aired back in 2016. Apparently David Schwimmer was a part of the podcast. Did anyone who watched the show listen to that as well? I’m curious how it compares... Anyways, the show was picked up as an Amazon Prime Original with Sam Esmail as the director (who is best known for his work on Mr. Robot, another show I’ve been meaning to check out soon). The podcast originators also serve as executive producers along with Julia Roberts who has a starring role in the show as well. One of my favorite things about these limited series is that they are able to get big stars to be in them since they aren’t as much of a time commitment as traditional tv shows. Rounding out the main cast are Stephan James, Bobby Cannavale, Shea Whigham, and Alexander Karpovsky with some supporting roles by Sissy Spacek, Jeremy Allen White, Marianne Jean-Baptise, and Dermot Mulroney.
The show is a psychological thriller that stars Roberts as Heidi Bergman, who is a caseworker/counselor working with the “Homecoming” initiative. What is Homecoming you ask? We are told that it is an immersive program that serves as a Transitional Facility to help soldiers returning from a deployment reintegrate into civilian life. There are two timelines in the show: 2018 (which appears as flashbacks to the characters’ time at Homecoming) and 2022 (which is the present-day investigation years after Homecoming has been shut down). In the 2018 timeline, we are introduced to Heidi at the same time we meet Walter Cruz (played by Stephan James) who is a brand new recruit to this program who is eager to comply and return to civilian life. We also meet Heidi’s overbearing and smarmy boss, Colin (played by Cannavale), who keeps pressuring her to collect some sort of data. Early on, we are shown Walter and his fellow soldiers doing helpful tasks such as preparing for their first job interview or role playing scenarios where they hang out with civilian friends and are faced with a barrage of questions about their military time. We are also shown glimpses of something more sinister as the men are given medications with no explanation of what they are for, and we are shown that while the program was initially portrayed as voluntary, the men are not allowed to simply leave. In fact, after Walter and his friend Shrier (played by White) stage an escape to try to go grab a beer, Shrier is kicked out of the program. As Heidi tries her hardest to protect Walter as the two of them bond, her boss grows more and more demanding, and things start to really go off the rails.
In 2022, we see a very different Heidi. She is living with her mother, and working as a waitress at a diner. She is approached by an inspector for the Department of Defense (played by Whigham), who is following up on a complaint that was filed years ago by Walter’s mother. We learn fairly quickly that Heidi’s recollection of her time working at Homecoming is very limited, and she has no memories of Walter or Colin. As she digs through her past, she winds up finding her old cell phone and trying to call Colin (seeing how many times he had called her in the past). He is spooked by this and travels to track her down. This sets Heidi and Inspector Carrasco into a cat and mouse game to uncover what actually happened at Homecoming, while Colin works to keep it hidden.
I don’t want to go into too much more detail than that and spoil anything, for anyone who may want to watch it in the future. It is quite a slow burn (despite its short episodes), and the building of tension in the lead-up to the reveal is almost more satisfying than the reveal itself. In fact, most of less-positive reviews I found online complain about the slow build to a payoff that the reviewer didn’t find worth it. That didn’t bother me, as I tend to like shows structured in that way. The vast majority of critic’s reviews, however, were very positive (the show has an impressive 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). One of the shows biggest strengths was amazing cinematography and directing, which is the main reason I’m interested in checking out more of Esmail’s work. The acting is the other strength. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but the chemistry between Roberts and James is wonderful. Even in their more quiet and less emotional scenes, they are compelling. And they really make you feel how Heidi comes to care for Cruz in such a short time. Shea Whigham is likable and rootable as a frazzled investigator trying to do the right thing while his bosses push him to move through his caseload. Bobby Cannavale also does a wonderful job convincing you that he’s both the cold and calculating mastermind of something sinister, while also being a clueless cog in a wheel of something much bigger than himself. We see him as cool and in control in the earlier episodes, and watch him grow more manic as things start to come unglued. The supporting cast also holds their own, particularly Jeremy Allen White, who I really enjoyed as the paranoid recruit spewing conspiracy theories (who’s suspicions may not be that off base).
The show has been renewed for a second season, which both excites me and makes me nervous, since they will now be deviating from the podcast with new cast members and a new story. Julia Roberts will not be returning, though it looks like Stephan James will be back. The show also added on Janelle Monae and Chris Cooper. I find that when these limited series come back for another season with a new cast (especially when the source material is gone) they tend to disappoint. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with this particular show. When we do Television Rankdown Round 2, we’ll have to see how this show holds up!
This is the first show off of the list that I watched entirely during the course of the rankdown. As many of my shows started to be cut, this show did wind up being added to my personal Top 20 based on what still remains. But, another one bites the dust!
