Homeland season 7 spoilers: Creator opens up about real world influence in the story

Homeland creator Alex Gansa has opened up about the real-world influences in the story for season 7, which is scheduled to premiere on February 11.

"Part of the exciting thing about writing Homeland is we are writing the show in real time, more or less, so we can't help but have what's going on in the real world influence the story and the way we tell the story," the creator said in an interview with Washington Post.

"When a big piece of news breaks, sometimes it can't help but lend itself to the story. It's fun to write. And we can educate people at some level about the internal dynamics of how Washington works," he added.

However, Gansa revealed that the show is not focusing on the Trump administration and President Elizabeth Keane does not represent President Donald Trump. "The show isn't about the Trump administration at all. It's its own fiction," he said.

Also read Homeland season 7 spoilers: Did Mandy Patinkin tease reunion between Carrie and Saul?

The creator then said the prime focus of the show is on former CIA officer Carrie Mathison and her struggles to keep the country safe.

"What we are trying to do is to take a character, Carrie Mathison, who was an intelligence officer and the one thing we've learned in talking to intelligence officers and people in the intelligence community is that, think what you want about them, these are intensely patriotic people for the most part who spend 24 hours a day trying to keep us safe," he said.

Gansa also revealed the reason for filming the seventh season in Washington. According to him, there are so many things happening there and it gives them the opportunity to develop a thrilling story.

"There is something compelling and, for some of us, disturbing about what's happening to the country. It gives us an opportunity to comment on that by telling the story there. If Hillary Clinton were president, it would be business as usual. It wouldn't be this 24-hour news cycle where something crazy happens every day. I don't think there would be such attendant anxiety about where we are, and that lends itself to a thriller," he said.