Homeland season 6 plot: Creator says Peter Quinn 'has a good chance of coming back'

Homeland season 5 ended with a cliffhanger and fans of the hit political drama want to know - Is Peter Quinn dead or alive? The finale found Quinn lying on a hospital bed, as the doctor declares him brain dead. In the final minutes we see Carrie Mathison removing his pulse monitor and presumably pulling the plug.

Also, Dar Adal gives Carrie a note from Peter, which is sure to well you up as it talks about their love and their prospect of a normal life that was just a false glimmer. He wrote: "Carrie. I guess I'm done. And we never happened. I'm not one for words, but they're coming now. I don't believe in fate, or destiny, or horoscopes, but I can't say I'm surprised things turned out this way. I always thought there was something kind of pulling me back to darkness. But I wasn't allowed a real life. Or a real love. That was for normal people. With you I thought maybe just maybe. But I know now that was a false glimmer. I'm used to... they happen all of the time in the desert, but this one got to me. And here's the thing, this death, this end of me is exactly what should've happened. I wanted the darkness. I f—ing asked for it. And it has me now. So don't put a star on the wall for me. Don't say some dumb speech. Just think of me as a light on the heavens. A beacon. Steering you clear of the wrongs. I loved you. — Yours, for always now, Quinn."

Though the fate of Quinn, played by Rupert Friend, was left hanging in the season 5 finale, the Showtime drama's co-creator is optimistic about the character's return.

Howard Gordon told The Hollywood Reporter at the Television Critics Association winter press tour: "I will say that Quinn, who is extraordinary... has a good chance of coming back. The way we're thinking about bringing him back — if he does come back — is really exciting to me personally."

Gordon acknowledged that the writers really did put the character though a lot this season, from getting shot to being gagged with Sarin gas. "Especially when you're talking about a young man who is so physically vibrant, we really put him through the ringer," said the co-creator.

Showtime's programming president Gary Levine also dished on Quinn's fate at the TCA panel. He said: "Quinn is severely damaged — there is no question about it. The life or death question remains. If he should live, it will not be in any way, shape or form the way he has lived to date."

The plot in the sixth season of the Showtime drama will be set in New York. Showtime boss David Nevin told reporters at the TCA: "Homeland will be shot next year in New York City, in and around New York. It will be set domestically. It will be set primarily in the New York area, but not exclusively."