HDTV Heads-Up: September 29-October 5

Forget about Four’s “same week as the States” programming – what about same day?

That’s essentially what TV3 will do when it does an X Factor with Homeland and launches season two within a few hours of its US premiere.

It starts on Showtime on September 30 and on TV3 on October 1 (at 8.35, on a double-bill with another Showtime hit, Californication).

The previous record for a drama’s US/NZ transmission turnaround was the seven days between HBO’s broadcast of Game of Thrones’ second season and SoHo’s.

The timing means the season-one finale of Homeland, which TV3 has been re-running late-nght Sundays, will screen less than a day before the season two premiere.

According to The Huffington Post, “Season two picks up several months after season one ended — when Carrie’s realisation about Brody’s connection to Abu Nazir and his son Isa was seemingly erased by her electroconvulsive therapy — and finds Brody now a sitting Congressman, working frighteningly close to the people he’s determined to take down …

“There’s a moment in the trailer for this season where Brody looks completely unhinged. He’s washing blood off of himself in a car wash and burying … something.”

Star Damian Lewis calls it a “very Deer Hunter” moment.

“That’s episode three … that’s a very, very almost gothic episode. It’s very operatic. It’s amazing.”

Meanwhile, Homeland’s Morena Baccarin will guest star in the October 2 episode of The Mentalist, which TV2 will screen half-an-hour later than normal at 9.00.

Also of note in HD for the week starting September 29:

❑ The season-four finale of Fringe on Thursday (TV2, 10.35)

❑ Saturday night re-runs of Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five (TV2, 6.00) and the 2008 movie, The Children of Huang Shi (TV3, 10.30)

❑ The resumption of  Harry’s Law’s second season, but in a later slot , on Wednesday (TV One, 10.55).