Homeland is one of the few shows on current television that consistently earns the word “unpredictable” as its chief descriptor. Following the shaky narrative and wonky, volatile emotions of Season 3, which saw the final exit of Damian Lewis‘s Nicholas Brody, the show refocused in last year’s blistering fourth season, mainly by jettisoning not only Brody but all the bloated drama that surrounded his family. There is something to be said, however, about the way the show’s creators and writers stuck it out to give a full, measured picture of what life for the families of violent political radicals is like in the longterm. Still, the fourth season survived by focusing on Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and her dangerous, mercurial profession in Islamabad and Washington D.C. Season 5 looks to be focusing on a new profession and, as it was announced today, a totally new locale, namely Berlin, Germany, which will serve as the setting for the entire new season, which is slated to begin production this summer.

This would make Homeland a bit of a first for American television, being the first American series to film an entire season in Germany. It’s interesting to note how perfectly reflective Berlin is as a city to Danes’ troubled character, with a history of gruesome acts of war and murder, and eruptive politics that the people of Germany are now trying to put behind them. It’s not entirely clear, however, how willing Carrie is to give up her old ways, following what’s happened with her and Sal (Mandy Patinkin) at the end of season 4, to say nothing of her increasingly heated encounters with Quinn (Rupert Friend). Whatever’s coming in Season 5, I can’t imagine the fact that it’s set in one of the defining cities of the Cold War will make things less paranoid and chaotic.

Here’s the official synopsis: