Incredible TV Resurrections: How Revenge, New Girl and Homeland Came Back From the Dead

How these three shows did the unthinkable: Made fans care again

By Kristin Dos Santos, Tierney Bricker Dec 22, 2014 2:00 PMTags
Claire Danes, Emily VanCamp, Zooey DeschanelSHOWTIME/ABC/FOX

You know that horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach, the moment you know a relationship is just…doomed? And it would take nothing short of a miracle to save it?

Well, that pretty much happened with us for three of our one-time favorite TV shows last year—all of whom just happened to be in their third seasons: HomelandNew GirlRevenge.

We simply couldn't find the strength to really care about the characters any more, and by the end of season three, we were letting these one-time must-see series slide lower and lower on our DVR lineup, into "maybe if a snowstorm hits LA and we're shut in for a week" territory. Maybe it was us? Or them? All we know is that it just wasn't working any more.

But what started out as a story of loss was astonishingly turned this season into a story of incredible redemption. Because New GirlRevenge and Homeland did the unthinkable this year: They made us CARE once more.

After some genius creative changes and clearly, a whole lot of TLC (and serious cajones!) on the part of the producers, writers and network powers that be, all three shows are truly firing on all pistons again and....dare we say it, maybe even better than ever?

HomelandNew Girl and Revenge, we are so grateful for the truly impressive TV resurrection you have pulled off in your fourth seasons, and for making us fall madly back in love with you this year. Here's a look at how you did it...

Ray Mickshaw/FOX

NEW GIRL

What Was Broken: The show went too big. Instead of focusing on the core group's dynamic, New Girl tried to expand its universe and just like Napoleon, it was just too much to conquer. Oh, and Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess (Zooey Deschanel) getting together so early? A huge risk that ultimately didn't pay off, with creator Liz Meriwether citing the duo coupling us as the main complaint she heard last season.

"That once Nick and Jess got together, the show lost its engine…that'd we'd been spending a lot of time watching Nick and Jess be in a relationship, and not enough time enjoying this group of friends hanging out."

How They Fixed It: 1. They broke up Nick and Jess, but were able to maintain their special bond, still giving fans hope that it could happen again…way off into the future. 2. They brought the weirdos back together to do their weird stuff.

"I have been having a lot of fun in the writers' room this year putting some of the relationship drama aside and just focusing on making the stories as funny as possible," Meriwether says. "Surprisingly, telling stories about smaller events in the characters' lives has actually deepened the relationships on the show.  It turns out the best way to tell a story about a relationship is to not tell a story about a relationship.  I'm going to get that quote tattooed to my lower back later."

Moment That Totally Won us Back: The final scene of the season four premiere totally captured what the shoe was about: here are five thirty-somethings just coming back from another wedding, who are all single and  thought they'd be in completely different places in their lives by now. But you know what? It's OK because they have each other. And beer.

And the premiere happens to be Meriwether's "A-ha! Moment," too, specifically the table-read for the episode. "It was the first time, in a long time, that I had put down my pen, stopped marking up scripts, and really laughed at a table-read, and It's good to remember that it's ultimately what it's about."

Moment That Lost Us: We still go into rage blackouts when we think about Schmidt (Max Greenfield) dating both Cece (Hannah Simone) and Elizabeth (Merritt Wever) at the same time. Making your lovable douchebag a cheater?! Put all your dollars in the douchebag jar, writers!

After Nick and Jess' couplehood, Meriwether says, "the whole Evil Schmidt thing," was a major season three complaint from fans.

Keep Doing This: Bottle episodes! Seriously, this season's "Background Check," which found the gang trying to hide a bag of "crystal meth" in the loft, was a work of wacky beauty, making for one of TV's funniest episodes of the year. Ditto "Bangsgiving."

Avoid This: Do not DTR (define the relationship, duh-doy!).  Keep the Nick and Jess of it all strictly platonic…until the very end. They are in the perfect sweet spot of friendship with a hint of more right now that totally works.

"I feel like we proved this year that the show is not just about the Nick/Jess relationship," Meriwether says. "It's a show about six hilarious people who can make me laugh in any situation. I think the show has grown a lot this year, and yes, in an embarrassing way, it makes me proud."

ABC

REVENGE

What Was Broken: If New Girl went too big, Revenge went ALL CAPS TOO BIG. The Initiative? We still do not understand. There seemed to be a lack of focus or drive, with more attention paid to "shocks" than character at times. And executive producer Sunil Nayar took notice. "I think the biggest complaint I've heard is that at times the show tried to tell too many stories," he tells us. "Which is something we've worked hard to avoid."

Moment That Lost Us: OK, can we all agree that Pascal (Olivier Martinez) dying via airplane propeller was, like, fifty kinds of insane?

How They Fixed It: They completely rocked Emily's entire world (and life mission) by bringing her father David Clarke (James Tupper) back from the dead. Sure, some fans predicted it in season one, but still, it's paid off. Big time. And it also helped to re-freeze the ice, once again, between Emily and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe).  "You never know if something is working right off the bat and there was so much to cover in those first few episodes," Nayar says of when he knew the series had found its rhythm again. "So it wasn't until we hit episode four and we nailed the two epic moments: when Emily first saw her father through the one- way glass in the line-up room and then later flanked by Victoria and Charlotte at his press conference, that I knew we'd made the right choices and were on the right track."

Moment That Totally Won Us Back: The season three finale was, in Nayar's words "intimidatingly epic," with David returning and killing Conrad, Victoria killing Aiden AND Emily having Victoria committed, bringing her revenge journey full-circle. But we give the show major props for redeeming and killing Daniel (Josh Bowman) in season four. His death meant something, to Emily, to the show, and to us. An impressive feat after his turn for the worst last season.

Keep Doing This: If a character is not working, continue to kill ‘em or send ‘em off, like you did with Charlotte (Christa B. Allen). And even if a character is working, if killing them makes for the best story, do it. (See: Daniel.)  It's clearly garnering massive feedback from fans..and even Nayar's inner circle. "Friends who either stopped watching or just stopped feeling the need to text or email after an episode are ever present now on Sunday nights," Nayar tells us. "As are droves of our wonderful fans. And that really is something that puts gas in the tank for a long and crazy season."

Avoid This: No more invisible big bads a la The Initiative. (Shudder!) Introducing Malcolm Black just two episodes after he's first mentioned? A good sign, so thanks! And we're totally fine with the semi-death of the show's voiceover, which is no longer featured in every episode. "In truth, one of the things that we loved in concept but, after time, did not work so well with the rhythm of the show was the voiceover," Nayar acknowledges. "So we fixed it by making very specific choices of when to use it and whose voice it was we were hearing." Co-sign. We like it.

Showtime

HOMELAND

What Was Broken: Too much emphasis on Brody's daughter Dana and ex-wife Jessica, and the struggle to find something for them to do. Did we learn nothing from 24's Kim storyline, with the infamous mountain-lion chase? Sometimes, teenage daughters just need to vanish off into the ether when they are starting to make the whole show feel low-stakes and ridiculous...Plus, the idea of Carrie Matheson being pregnant seemed at first to be a show-killer. How could the stakes possibly remain high with nannies, poopy diapers and feeding times in the mix? Of course, joke was, untimately on us...And we feel terrible for ever doubting.

Moment That Lost Us: Dana's "Romeo and Juliet" road trip with depressing love interest Leo made us want to flip the channel to anything else, in any language.

How They Fixed It: Luckily for us (and unfortunately for sweet baby Franny, who clearly has a lifetime of therapy ahead of her), Carrie is a fully terrible mother, who specifically chose to implant herself in a deeply unstable terrorist location (Pakistan) in order to avoid having to see her offspring. "We knew we were going through a reset," executive producer Alex Gangsa told THR, "and we knew we were taking Carrie [Claire Danes] overseas. The journey really began on the writers' annual field trip to Washington to sit down with former and current intelligence officers. That's where we began to think about what the season was going to be about and, more basically than that, where to set the damn thing." The location change—along with the shocking death of Brody and a farewell to Dana and Jessica—breathed serious new life into the series. "We were all a little terrified about it," Gangsa admitted. "There were so many voices to find and casting decisions to make."

Moment That Totally Won Us Back: Carrie sleeping with Aayan. Though at first we were horrified and appalled, it ultimately was the moment that made us feel again as if ANYTHING could happen on Homeland, and ANYTHING did happen with the subsequent death of Aayan, capture of Saul (our hearts still haven't recovered from that scene where he wants to shoot himself by the fountain), Embassy takeover and full-fledged Quinn bad-assery, as he went rogue and tried to take down Haqqani by himself.

Keep Doing This: More. Quinn. Just… more, more, more.

Avoid This: More Brody hallucinations. The card was played so insanely well the first time, but obviously can't be done again, even though Damien Lewis is everything and we miss him every day.

 Homeland's season four finale airs this Sunday on Showtime. Revenge will return Jan. 4 to ABC. New Girl will return Jan. 6 to Fox.