Mandy Patinkin returns to TV in ‘Homeland’

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Mandy Patinkin has been signed for a key role in Showtime’s ‘Homeland,’ about an American soldier who was a former prisoner of war in Iraq who comes under suspicion when he returns to the U.S.

Patinkin will play a veteran CIA division chief who is the boss and mentor of an ambitious CIA officer played by Claire Danes. The series is scheduled to begin production in January.

The actor’s return to series TV comes almost three years since his controversial exit from his starring role in CBS’ ‘Criminal Minds.’ Patinkin abruptly left the show without explanation at the start of the third season, leaving producers and the cast in the lurch. He later issued a statement saying he was departing for ‘creative reasons,’ and shot his farewell scene with a splinter crew while the main company worked at another location.

Several months before his departure, Patinkin had told journalists he was becoming increasingly distressed about the violence on the show.

-- Greg Braxton