Sleeper Cell

Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Miniseries. The eight-episode second season of the series, titled Sleeper Cell: American Terror, premiered on December 10, 2006. Both seasons of Sleeper Cell were originally aired in an unusual fashion, by filming the entire season ahead of time and then airing the episodes on consecutive nights, such that each brand new season was aired for the first time over a period of less than two weeks.

There are currently (as of January 2008) no definite plans for a continuation of the series. However, Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment for Showtime, was reported in July 2007 to have publicly mentioned the possibility of creating a new installment of the series every few years, similar to the structuring of the British television series Prime Suspect, in that there might be an entirely new cast of characters for each new season. In this way, the series could become a way to examine the current state of terrorism, and its evolution over time.

As extra material on the first season DVDs reveal, the show was originally known simply as "The Cell."

Darwyn Al-Sayeed, a 30-year-old African-American undercover FBI agent who is also a practicing Muslim, is assigned to infiltrate a terrorist sleeper cell that is planning an attack in Los Angeles. The cell is run by a Muslim extremist named Faris al-Farik. Darwyn is supervised by FBI senior agent Ray Fuller, also a close friend who worries for Darwyn's safety.

In the second season, Darwyn infiltrates a new cell that has formed to avenge the defeat of the original cell. When his second handler, Patrice Serxner, is killed in Sudan, Darwyn must try to work with yet another handler, Special Agent Russell. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Gayle is drawn deeper into the intrigue when she's caught between Russell, Darwyn and a member of the cell.

The writers once again offered a non-stereotypical mix of cell members, including a white European woman, a Latino-American man and, in a first for American television, a gay Muslim man.




By the way, "Sleeper Cell" is probably the very first TV show that features a gay Muslim person who's struggling with his homosexuality and religion. The show is very smart, thought provoking, and quite complex. You can watch both seasons online on Netflix.