Los Angeles

ONCE you’ve pushed viewers to the very edge of their seats, once you’ve pushed even the president of the United States to the brink of his government-issue furniture, is it possible for a television drama to maintain anything like that level of intensity in a second season?

“Oh yes,” said Alex Gansa, one of the creators of “Homeland,” the thriller that kicks off a new season Sept. 30 on Showtime. “The show will be just as intense this year.”

His co-creator, Howard Gordon, added, “That’s the contract with the audience.”

The audience that made that pact last season immersed itself in a show widely described by critics as electrifying (in The New York Times, Alessandra Stanley said it was “almost impossible to resist”), a series followed so fervently that one special fan — President Obama — requested four copies of the finale.

In the wake of that furious ride of a first season “Homeland” was showered with recognition, including Golden Globes for best drama and for its star, Claire Danes, and nine Emmy nominations, including for best drama, best actress for Ms. Danes and best actor for her co-star, Damian Lewis. (The winners will be revealed next Sunday.) “Homeland” also scored the best audience numbers for a finale of any new Showtime series, with just over two million viewers, not far off this season’s best-ever finale figure for AMC’s “Mad Men,” 2.7 million. The “Homeland” finale viewership was topped only by an episode of “Dexter” among all shows ever on Showtime.