AceShowbiz -

Starting off strong, new action thriller "Homeland" has scored a second season order from Showtime. The cable channel announced the renewal after airing four episodes of the rookie which was seen by 4.4 million viewers across various platforms in its first week.

The October 2 premiere itself drew 1.1 million viewers, marking Showtime's most watched drama premiere in eight years since "Dead Like Me". More impressively, the audience number keeps increasing with its most recent episode hitting a series high. The show now becomes the highest-rated new series ever for the network.

" 'Homeland' is just getting started," said David Nevins, President of Entertainment at Showtime. "Clearly, the overall audience growth from week one to week four demonstrates that this show is hitting a nerve in the cultural zeitgeist."

Paired with "Dexter", "Homeland" centers its story on Claire Danes' Carrie Anderson, a CIA officer who is convinced that the intelligence that led to the rescue of Scott Brody (Damian Lewis), who had been missing and presumed deal for nine years, was setup and connected to an Al Qaeda plot aimed at American soil. Mandy Patinkin stars as a veteran CIA Division Chief who is Carrie's boss and mentor.

The new season, which consists of another twelve episodes, will begin the production in the spring of 2012.