Written by on Apr 28, 2015. Posted in On Location

Homeland to become first US drama to film full series in Germany

Terrorism drama Homeland will film its next series entirely in Germany, becoming the first US TV production to do so. The new fifth season will follow Claire Danes’ former CIA agent as she starts working for a private security firm in Berlin.

Homeland will be based at Studio Babelsberg just outside Berlin. The series was based in North Carolina for its first three seasons but left the eastern US state shortly before the regional filming incentive was downgraded.

The last season was filmed on location in Cape Town, largely doubling the South African city for Islamabad in Pakistan.

“Cape Town could provide so many different looks in one place,” Location Manager Robert Bentley told The Location Guide when Season Four was launched: “Most of the story took place in Pakistan but we had to show the difference between the modern Islamabad and the older Rawalpindi (a city near Islamabad), which we could do in Cape Town.”

Studio Babelsberg had a big success with Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, which used the studio as a production base and won four Oscars this year. More recent visitors have included Steven Spielberg with his upcoming Cold War drama Bridge of Spies (above).

“The tradition of filmmaking, the excellent handcraft and the various filming locations are important driving forces, why directors want to film in Germany,” said Carl Woebcken, chief executive officer of Studio Babelsberg, after The Grand Budapest Hotel’s Oscar success.

Last summer Studio Babelsberg started work on a major new standing street set that will offer moveable facades and green screen facilities. The facility represents an investment of more than EUR 12 million for the studio.

Interview: LMGA Award-winner Klaus Darrelmann on location filming in Germany