''Sleeper Cell'' is an American one-hour drama on the
Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The
tagline
In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...
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. In Australia, both seasons originally aired on the
Showtime Australia
Showtime Movie Channels is a group of Australian pay-TV movie channels, available on the Foxtel, Optus and Austar TV platforms. The service consisted of five original channels (showtime premiere, showcase, showtime action, showtime comedy, showt ...
channel in 2006/2007. Re-runs as of 2008 have screened on the showcase channel (part of the Showtime Australia group of channels).
As extra material on the first season DVDs reveal, the show was originally named ''The Cell''.
Synopsis
Darwyn Al-Sayeed, a 30-year-old
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
undercover
FBI agent who is a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
and embracing
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
as his religion, is assigned to infiltrate a
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
sleeper cell that is planning an attack in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. The cell is run by an Arab extremist named
Faris al-Farik who disguises himself as a
Jew. The members of the cell come from a variety of racial backgrounds and conflicting personalities. The series also portrays the hypocrisy and dichotomy of the cell members who claim to be Muslims but engage in behavior that is sinful in Islam (e.g. sex outside marriage) yet they profess a desire to be martyred for Islam.
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
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, 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.
Cast
Season 1
Recurring
*
James LeGros—Special Agent Ray Fuller
*
Albert Hall—The Librarian
*Michael Desante—FBI Special Agent Alim Saleh
* Joshua Feinman—FBI Tech
*
Sonya Walger—Special Agent Patrice Serxner
*
Megan Ward
Megan Marie Ward (born September 24, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her numerous credits in science fiction and horror movies and television series. In 2007, she joined the cast of the American daytime drama ''General Hospi ...
—Mrs. Fuller
*John Fletcher—Deputy Attorney General of the US
*
Ally Walker—Lynn Ellen Emerson
*Raj Mann—Radical Muslim Man
*Luis Chavez—Khashul
*
Saïd Taghmaoui
Saïd Taghmaoui (born 19 July 1973) is a French-American actor and screenwriter. One of his major screen roles was that of Saïd in the 1995 French film ''La Haine'', directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Taghmaoui has also appeared in a number of Eng ...
—Hamid
*Amro Salama-Abbas
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465353/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast ]
Season 2
Recurring
*
Jay R. Ferguson—Special Agent Russell
*
Michael Rady - Jason
* Susan Pari - Samia
*
Sarah Shahi
Aahoo Jahansouzshahi ( fa, آهو جهانسوز شاهی; born ), known professionally as Sarah Shahi (), is an American actress and former model. She played Carmen on ''The L Word'' in 2005, Kate Reed in the USA Network legal drama ''Fairly Le ...
- Farah
* Angela Gots - Carli
*
Yvette Nicole Brown - Fatima
Crew
Writers
*
Ethan Reiff
*
Cyrus Voris
*
Angel Dean Lopez
*
Alexander Woo
*
Kamran Pasha
Kamran Pasha ( ur, ; born on 3 April 1972) is an American Hollywood screenwriter, director and novelist of Pakistani origin. He was a writer and producer on the NBC series '' Kings'', after working as a producer on NBC's '' Bionic Woman''.. Previ ...
*
Katherine Lingenfelter
* Andrew Barrett
*
Nina Fiore
Nina Fiore is an American TV and film writer as well as producer. She has written for ''Eureka'' (2006), ''Alphas'' (2014), ''The Vampire Diaries'', '' Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase'', and '' The Handmaid's Tale'' (2017). For her work on ' ...
(writers' assistant)
Directors
*
Ziad Doueiri
*
Guy Ferland
*
Nick Gomez
Nick Gomez (born April 13, 1963) is an American film director and writer. He has directed for a number of television and film. His first feature-length film was the 1992 movie ''Laws of Gravity'', which won awards at both the Berlin Internati ...
*
Leon Ichaso
*
Leslie Libman
*
Vondie Curtis-Hall
*
Charles S. Dutton
*
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954), is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989 ...
(Pilot Episode)
Sound Department
*
Paul Haslinger (Composer)
*
Joe Earle
Joe Earle is an author and curator. He was chair of the Asia, Oceania, and Africa department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He served as Vice President and Director for the Japan Society Gallery at Japan Society from 2007 to 2011.
Biography ...
(Sound Re-Recording Mixer)
*
Elmo Ponsdomenech (Sound Re-Recording Mixer)
*
Mark Kamps (Supervising Sound Editor)
*
Kevin Roache (Sound Recordist)
*
Matt Fausak (Music Editor)
Episodes
Season 1: (2005)
Season one aired from December 4, 2005 to December 18, 2005. The original airdates (U.S.) are listed here for each episode.
Season 2: (2006)
Season two aired from December 10, 2006 to December 17, 2006. There were several cast changes in season two.
Thekla Reuten
Thekla Simona Gelsomina Reuten (born 16 September 1975) is a Dutch actress.
Life and career
Reuten was born in Bussum, Netherlands, the daughter of a Dutch father, Joost Reuten, and an Italian mother, who was born in Benabbio near Bagni di Lucc ...
,
Omid Abtahi, and
Kevin Alejandro joined the main cast as Mina, Salim and Benny, respectively. The original airdates (U.S.) are listed here for each episode.
Home media
Region 1 DVD
Region 2 DVD
Region 4 DVD
References
External links
*
*
Showcase (Australia) webpage about ''Sleeper Cell''
*
*
*
{{Showtime Network programming
Serial drama television series
Showtime (TV network) original programming
Terrorism in television
Television shows set in Los Angeles
2000s American television miniseries
Television series by CBS Studios
2005 American television series debuts
2006 American television series endings
English-language television shows