'Homeland' season 6 cast, plot news 2016: Upcoming season to focus on 'dangerous moment' in America's democracy.; Female president named

Fans of "Homeland" are in for a thrilling ride when the sixth installment returns to the small screen, with the series set to engage at a critical moment in the U.S. history – a confusing battle for power, with the winner emerging as the most powerful individual in the United States.

Following reports that "Homeland" season 6 will see the first female president of the United States being elected to the top post, the Showtime drama has finally cast an actress to play the role.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Elizabeth Marvel has been cast as president-elect Elizabeth Keane. The actress will be playing a former junior senator, described as "bright, charming, lively, and blunt," who's waiting to be inaugurated as the U.S.' newest president when the series starts its sixth run.

Marvel was previously seen in Netflix's "House of Cards" where she played one-time presidential candidate Heather Dunbar. Her casting couldn't have come at a more appropriate time, what with Hillary Clinton being nominated by the Democratic National Convention as the first female presidential candidate from a major political party.

There were previous reports that the newly elected female POTUS would be Carrie's (Claire Danes) powerful new ally. How that would play out is something fans can look forward to when "Homeland" season 6 returns.

Filming for the sixth installment will start in August, and showrunner Alex Gansa said the series would take place during the two-month period from the day of elections to the swearing in of the new POTUS.

"The whole season takes place between Election Day in November and the inauguration of a new president in January, during this strange and interregnum where a very fragile transfer of power takes place between the outgoing president and the incoming president-elect," Gansa told Entertainment Weekly.

Gansa likewise described a "dangerous time" in America's democracy that would provide a strong arc for the upcoming season.

"There is this strange period in America where there are 72 days when it's not exactly clear who's in charge, and there is a new president that needs to be educated on what it means to be president."

Showtime is yet to announce a premiere date for "Homeland" season 6, but the show is speculated to return sometime in January 2017.