Homeland -- Showtime's political drama series -- could be nearly a year away from its season 7 premiere, as speculations are rife that the show will return with its next instalment only in May 2018.

With the demise of lead character Peter Quinn in Season 6, viewers are desperate to know what lies ahead for Carrie Mathison and Saul Berenson in the upcoming season. According to showrunner Alex Gansa, the seventh season will revolve around the female lead and her mentor.

The executive producer revealed that fans can look forward to seeing the former CIA case officer back in the intelligence business.

"One thing I can tell you about next season is that we have to get Carrie back into the intelligence business. She's been out of it for two years. It's time for her to return. We have to construct some sort of narrative to allow that to happen," Gansa said in an interview with Variety.

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Homeland
Showrunner Alex Gansa teases Carrie Mathison’s fate in Homeland season 7Showtime

The showrunner also revealed that he wants to focus on a single-arc story for the last two seasons, and hinted that it could focus on the female lead. But he refused to share any details about the plot for Season 7.

"I'm really at the very beginning of thinking about the last two seasons. The hope would be to tell one story that takes us through the last two seasons so that we don't have to reinvent in the last season. We'd like to start a story in season seven that brings the series in for a landing. We'll see if that happens. That's the hope. (But) it's hard to know until we decide where we want Carrie Mathison to be at the end of this journey," Gansa said.

Meanwhile, cast member Mandy Patinkin, who portrays Saul Berenson on the political drama series, said he is a fan of his character. "I like him more than I like myself. He's calmer, he listens better than I do, and I believe he's smarter than myself," the actor said.