Showtime had been courting Claire Danes for the female lead in its drama pilot Homeland. Now the Emmy winner has closed a deal to star in the pilot from 24 executive producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, her first series project since the show that helped launch her career, ABC’s My So-Called Life. It marks the first pilot order from David Nevins since he took over as president of entertainment for Showtime last August. In August, Danes won an Emmy for starring in the title role of the HBO biopic Temple Grandin. Loosely based on Gideon Raff’s Israeli series Prisoners of War, Showtime’s Homeland centers on an American soldier taken prisoner during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Danes will play Carrie Anderson, a driven CIA officer battling her own psychological demons. Gordon, Gansa and Raff wrote the script for the Fox 21-produced pilot, which will be directed by Michael Cuesta.