Homeland is an American political thriller television series developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War (Original Hebrew title Hatufim, literally "Abductees"), which was created by Gideon Raff. The series stars Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a Central Intelligence Agency officer with bipolar disorder, and Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper. Mathison had come to believe that Brody, who was held captive by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war, was "turned" by the enemy and poses a threat to the United States.