Julia Roberts stars in Amazon’s intriguing ‘Homecoming’ series

‘Mr. Robot’ creator Sam Esmail recruits Julia Roberts for mind-bending Amazon Prime series With “Homecoming,” Esmail swivels back and forth in time and channels suspense master Alfred Hitchcock via off-kilter camera angles, extreme close-ups and ominous s

Director Sam Esmail deserves major kudos for convincing Julia Roberts to bring her movie-star clout to television. He deserves even more for awarding her with a truly exceptional series.

I’m referring to “Homecoming,” the mind-bending, visually adventurous conspiracy thriller that has just become available on Amazon Prime.

If you’re a fan of Esmail’s “Mr. Robot,” you know he’s a staunch aesthete — a guy who has no use for conventional, by-the-number narratives. With “Homecoming,” Esmail swivels back and forth in time and channels suspense master Alfred Hitchcock via offkilter camera angles, extreme close-ups and ominous sound effects that provoke a mounting sense of anxiety and dread. It all makes for good, creepy fun.

Inspired by the 2016 Gimlet Media podcast of the same name, “Homecoming” follows Heidi Bergman (Roberts), a therapist at a Florida facility that purportedly helps American soldiers who have recently returned from combat transition back to civilian life. There, she forms a friendship with one of her patients, Walter Cruz (Stephan James), a man haunted by tragedy and regret.

But through a series of layer-peeling flash-forwards, we learn that Heidi is now living with her mother (Sissy Spacek) and working as a waitress at a run-down seaside diner. When a dogged Department of Defense auditor (Shea Whigham) shows up asking questions about her brief stint at the Homecoming center, you begin to suspect that something shady went down there.

But what, exactly? That’s the big mystery. And it might be easier to solve if Heidi possessed more than just a vague memory of her Homecoming tenure, which ended at the same time Cruz left the program.

Perhaps there are clues in the numerous phone calls made between Heidi and her manic Homecoming center boss Colin Belfast (Bobby Cannavale). He apparently had issues with her “holistic” approach to the job, demanding instead only cold hard data and threatening to expel any soldier from the program who didn’t fit into a certain kind of mold. Clearly, this man has a questionable agenda.

“Homecoming” takes some time to gain traction, and initially viewers may wonder why Roberts was drawn to a TV role that seems less than meaty. But the series — and her character — deepen as we go.

With an “X-Files”-like vibe, it plays into a cynical distrust of the government and corporate institutions. And “Homecoming” ramps up the tension and paranoia in a decidedly old-fashioned way: The episodes made available for review were blessedly free of gunfights, car chases and explosions.

Another plus: With a running time of around 30 minutes for each of its 10 taut episodes, “Homecoming” is a brisk binge that should fit comfortably into your busy schedule. The only drawback is that once you’re done you’ll likely be oh so hungry for more.

Channel surfing

Also just arriving is the sixth and final season of Netflix’s “House of Cards.”

Of course, the big news here is that Frank Underwood, the vile politician played by Kevin Spacey, is no more. Spacey was dismissed amid a rash of a rash of sexual misconduct allegations and his character apparently has died.

Spacey’s ouster deprives viewers of what surely would have been a vicious climactic showdown between Underwood and his wife, Claire (Robin Wright). So we’re now left with a solo act as Wright not only takes over top billing, but assumes control of the Oval Office.

Expect more treachery along the way.

Even fans who bailed on “The Walking Dead” ages ago (that includes me) might feel compelled to return for Sunday’s episode (9 p.m., AMC), as Andrew Lincoln’s heroic Rick Grimes bids farewell.

Yes, after eight years of headlining a cultural phenomenon, the British actor is leaving the zombie apocalypse behind. You might want to have tissues handy.

But how will he depart? Those who saw last week’s episode know that Rick is in a world of hurt. Spoiler alert: His horse, spooked by hordes of gruesome walkers, reared up, dumped him into a pile of rubble and left him impaled by steel rebar with the walkers closing in on him.

No! This can’t be the way the great Rick Grimes goes out, can it? Not lying all alone and helpless — just another hunk of convenient zombie bait? Let’s hope not.

AMAZON Julia Roberts is a therapist whose work on a secret government project with American soldiers goes awry in the new Amazon Prime series “Homecoming.”