The Triumphant Return of Claire Danes

In case you hadn't heard in the last few weeks, Showtime announced that Claire Danes is going to be starring in a new series for the network called Homeland, and Mandy Patinkin was just announced as one of her costars. For those of you who haven't watched the short-lived 90s cult hit My So-Called Life, you need to go and do that. Right now. In it, Danes played Angela Chase, a "normal" teenage girl, with all the overly earnest angst and performative apathy that comes with being a teenage girl. Her sensitive, intelligent, (dare I say?) brilliant portrayal of Angela earned her a Golden Globe award and an Emmy nomination for best actress. My So-Called Life's nineteen episodes comprise one of my two favorite series of all time. So imagine my delight at hearing the news that Danes is returning to a TV series after over fifteen years away! Maybe her Emmy-winning role in HBO's Temple Grandin this year whetted her appetite for the kind of character drama that TV is producing so well these days. In any case, I know I'm not the only one to be positively giddy about watching Danes on a series again. How about a slow hand-clap for the influx of movie stars to TV.