Morena Baccarin

Homeland has officially been picked up for a second season by Showtime.

The cable network has ordered an additional 12 episodes of the drama series, which stars Damian Lewis and Claire Danes.

Danes plays Carrie Mathison, a CIA officer who becomes convinced that former prisoner of war Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) has been turned by terrorists.

"Homeland is just getting started," said Showtime’s president of entertainment David Nevins. "Clearly, the overall audience growth from week one to week four demonstrates that this show is hitting a nerve in the cultural zeitgeist."

He continued: "[Series co-creators] Alex [Gansa] and Howard [Gordon] have created a psychological thriller that holds special relevance in the post 9/11 world. I’m quite confident that its passionate audience will be riveted as the season unfolds and people discover where this story is going."

Homeland - which also stars Mandy Patinkin and Morena Baccarin - debuted with 1.08m viewers and viewership has continued to rise, with the most recent fourth episode pulling in 1.1m.

Production on season two will commence in spring 2012. Earlier this week, Nevins indicated that the series would be renewed, suggesting that there was not "much suspense" over its future.

Homeland continues on Sundays at 10/9c on Showtime and will be broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK.