Julia Roberts helps create tense, thrilling ‘Homecoming’
Fans of old-school thrillers, take note: Amazon Prime Video’s “Homecoming” may be the streaming series you’ve been waiting for.
With a score that would feel at home on an episode of the 1950s original “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Homecoming,” now streaming, stars a likable-as-ever Julia Roberts as Heidi Bergman, a social worker at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center, an initiative of something called the Geist Group.
At Homecoming, Heidi works with soldiers returning from war in an effort to make their return to American society easier. At least, that’s the pretense.
Flash-forward to four years later — shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio that puts black bars on the right and left side of the screen — and Heidi is working as a waitress, possibly with no memory of her past work at Homecoming. A Department of Defense auditor, Tom (Shea Whigham, especially winning as a perp-pushing hero), investigates Heidi after a complaint about Homecoming, made four years earlier, finds its way to his desk.
At Homecoming, Heidi comes across as empathetic and overworked, often forsaking her boyfriend (Dermot Mulroney) to take calls from her obnoxious, ambitious company man boss, Colin (Bobby Cannavale), who’s always
phoning from somewhere exotic to second guess or berate her.
Heidi takes a particular interest in returning soldier Walter Cruz (Stephan James) whose fellow infantryman (Jeremy Allen White) spins a paranoid conspiracy theory about Homecoming. Could the facility really be something other than what it claims?
Seems likely given that all 10 episodes of “Homecoming” are directed by Sam Esmail, creator of USA’s subterfuge-fueled “Mr. Robot.”
Mr. Esmail’s direction is nothing short of astonishing — a lengthy, overhead tracking shot in the premiere sets the stage for more visual delights to come — as “Homecoming” bathes in its minute details, both visually and in the unfolding story. Sometimes conversations or set pieces that seem tangential prove key; so too does the show’s imagery, from the shape of the Homecoming facility itself to a weird blurriness along the lower edge of the screen.
Based on the Gimlet podcast of the same name, created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg who also adapted their creation for Amazon, the secrets of “Homecoming” aren’t terribly shocking once revealed, but the journey, filled with Hitchcockian tension, proves fascinating in the exactitude with which the story is set up.
(Fans of the short-lived 2009-10 Joss Whedon series “Dollhouse” may feel a small sense of familiarity when they watch “Homecoming” — from a two-story set to themes around memory and even the presence of “Dollhouse” star Fran Kranz in one episode — but the visuals and story distinguish “Homecoming” from any predecessors.)
The pace is deliberate in “Homecoming,” but the show is rarely boring thanks to the visuals and an investment in the characters. (After episode eight, when a major reveal happens, “Homecoming” gets a little draggy, but by then invested viewers will carry through to the end.)
In this Peak TV era, God bless the production team for taking a one-hour concept and boiling it down to 30-minute episodes. Anything longer and “Homecoming” would have felt bloated. At five hours total, the running time seems just about right.
Kept/canceled/rebooted
Netflix renewed “BoJack Horseman,” “The Ranch” and “Paradise P.D.” but canceled “American Vandal” after two seasons. Producers are shopping “Vandal” elsewhere.
Maybe there is hope for filmed-in-Pittsburgh “One Dollar” after all: This week CBS All Access renewed the equally buzz-free “Strange Angel” for a second season.
CBS All Access also ordered a new animated “Star Trek” series, but unlike the 1970s animated “Trek,” this one will be a comedy. “Rick & Morty” writer Mike McMahan developed “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” about support personnel on Starfleet’s least important starship.
Channel surfing
NBC’s “Timeless” wrapup movie will air 8-10 p.m. Dec. 20. … Fox announced Vanessa Hudgens, Jordan Fisher, Tinashe and Brandon Victor Dixon are among the cast members for its live production of “Rent” (7-10 p.m. Jan. 27). … Jonah Hill hosts NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” this weekend with musical guest Maggie Rogers; Liev Schreiber hosts Nov. 10 with Lil Wayne. … Carnegie Mellon University grad Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Dollar”) will star alongside Kerry Washington (“Scandal”) as married pastors at a Los Angeles church in an ABC comedy pilot. ... HBO/Cinemax channels went off DISH Network Wednesday night due to a standoff over carriage agreements. … WQED-TV’s halfhour “… after war” documentary (8 p.m. Nov. 8) explores the success stories of recent veterans. … Pittsburgh native and New York Times-editor Bari Weiss, who penned an essay about Pittsburgh after the Tree of Life shootings, will be the top-of-show interview guest on “Real Time With Bill Maher” (10 p.m. Friday, HBO). ... The remains of Derry Township WWII pilot Capt. Eugene Ford are discovered during an expedition chronicled next week on PBS’s “NOVA: Last B-24” (9 p.m. Wednesday, WQED-TV).
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about “This is Us,” “Last Man Standing” and local TV news. This week’s Tuned In Journal includes posts on “Busy Tonight.” Read online-only TV content at http://communityvoices.arts-entertainment-living/ tuned-in.