'Homeland' season 6 air date news, spoilers: Altered Quinn reemerges; upcoming installment to deal with domestic threats

Given the way season 5 of "Homeland" ended, many had assumed that Quinn's (Rupert Fiend) death was a foregone conclusion. Thankfully, viewers will be seeing much more of him when the political thriller returns for its sixth season in January 2017. As the upcoming installment returns to U.S. soil, Carrie (Claire Danes) will also be dealing with domestic threats.

Showrunner Alex Gansa teased Quinn's return earlier this year. He said that people will be surprised with how much the CIA operative and assassin has changed following his stroke. Recently, executive producer Chip Johannessen also previewed Quinn's state. While Quinn will definitely return, an explanation for how he was able to recover has yet to be revealed.

"There's no technical explanation. When we meet him, he's just back. But really altered," Johannessen told TVLine, adding, "[Rupert Fiend] has been fantastic in finding a way to physicalize [Quinn 2.0]. And we've been trying out best in the storytelling to take advantage of that, because it's really quite interesting."

Quinn has yet to be seen in any of the promotional videos for the upcoming season, but in the latest trailer, he is heard asking, "What happened to me?" as Carrie gives him a concerned look.

Aside from Quinn's reemergence, "Homeland" will also focus on possible domestic threats with New York City serving as the main setting of the new installment. However, unlike previous seasons, Gansa has revealed that the scale of threats that Carrie and the CIA will face will be scaled down. They made a conscious effort not to dramatize anything that doesn't really exist in real life. The production crew is understandably more cautious given that the events featured in season 5 had parallels with the attacks in Paris.

"That was our first karmic principle this year. We're not going to posit that there are vast ISIS or Al Qaeda cells or networks in the United States like there are in Europe, because according to all our intelligence officers, there aren't any," he told Entertainment Weekly.

Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that season 6 of "Homeland" will be any less thrilling and action-packed. This season, the main threat will be coming from "do-it-yourself self-radicalized individuals."

"The thriller exists in a much more psychological way this year, and we're curious to see how people respond to it," Gansa added.

In the trailer, a young Muslim is targeted by law enforcement after he posts videos online that are critical of the United States and its policies. He is wrongfully accused of being a terrorist. Given that it is post-9/11, officials want to pre-empt any sort of questionable actions that could lead to another terrorist attack.

Carrie will be working with an organization that provides aid to Muslims living in the United States. She will handle the case of the young man who has seemingly been pushing the boundaries of free speech. His case will be very relevant as it raises important questions on the limits of the First Amendment and whether his acts are indeed punishable by law.

Season 6 of "Homeland" will premiere on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017, at 9 p.m. EST on Showtime.