Missing Brody? Don't worry – a new Homeland is on its way

Homeland fans enthralled by tonight's finale won't have to wait long for more excitement – the show's producers are already plotting a "sequel", which will question the West's response to the Arab Spring.

The success of the award-winning drama's twist-packed story about a US marine who is "turned" after being seized by Islamic extremists has prompted broadcasters to seek fresh angles on the "war on terror".

The series was adapted from the Israeli drama Prisoners of War and now Howard Gordon, who developed the US show, and Gideon Raff, creator of the Israeli original, are collaborating on a follow-up, which has prompted a bidding war from US channels before a scene has even been shot.

Tyrant, set in the Middle East, is about an American family who are tossed into the tumultuous political life of an Arab state following the demise of its dictator.

The "reverse Homeland" storyline, sketched out by Craig Wright, writer on the hit show Lost, imagines a situation in which the executed leader has an American son, who becomes the new head of the country.

FX, the News Corp-owned channel, beat HBO and Showtime, producers of Homeland, to win the right to commission a pilot episode, which is then expected to become a series. Given the success of Homeland on Channel 4, the series is unlikely to be short of interest from British networks.