‘Homeland,’ ‘The Affair’ Renewed at Showtime

Showtime is staying the course with critical dramas Homeland and The Affair.

The premium cable network announced Wednesday that it has renewed both series for additional installments in 2016. Emmy winner Homeland will return for its sixth season, while The Affair will be back for its third cycle.

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The renewals come as little surprise as both series rank among the top scripted series on premium cable in the fourth quarter when factoring same-day, three- and seven-day returns. With three days of delayed viewing, Homeland is averaging 2.7 million total viewers and 1.05 million among adults 18-49. The Affair, meanwhile, is averaging 1.5 million total viewers and 0.6 million in the demo.

For Homeland, produced by Fox 21, the pickup comes hours after it collected a leading three SAG Award nominations (tied with HBO’s Game of Thrones), including mentions for best drama series and star Claire Danes. Season five of the series from Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon has seen a creative reboot with its focus moved to Berlin.

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Sarah Treem’s The Affair, meanwhile, stars Ruth Wilson, Dominic West, Joshua Jackson and Maura Tierney and added a third point of five to its storytelling narrative this season.

The two shows are the cornerstone of Showtime’s fall programming. The cabler’s scripted roster also includes dramas Masters of Sex, Penny Dreadful, Ray Donovan and dramedy Shameless. The network will next bow financial drama Billions in January. On the comedy side, its slate includes Episodes and House of Lies, as well as the upcoming Cameron Crowe entry Roadies and Andrew Dice Clay’s Dice.