''Sleeper Cell'' is an American one-hour drama on the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

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 undercover FBI agent who is a Muslim and embracing Islam 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 wor ...

. The cell is run by an Arab extremist named Faris al-Farik who disguises himself as a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

. 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 Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

, 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.

Cast

Season 1

Recurring

James LeGros James Le Gros () (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in ''Living in Oblivion''. Career James Le Gros appeared as Rick in Gus Van Sant's 198 ...

—Special Agent Ray Fuller *

Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

—The Librarian *Michael Desante—FBI Special Agent Alim Saleh * Joshua Feinman—FBI Tech * Sonya Walger—Special Agent Patrice Serxner * Megan Ward—Mrs. Fuller *John Fletcher—Deputy Attorney General of the US *

Ally Walker Allene Damian "Ally" Walker (born August 25, 1961) is an American actress. She made her television debut in the NBC daytime soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' (1988) before landing the leading roles on the short-lived dramas '' True Blue'' (1989–199 ...

—Lynn Ellen Emerson *Raj Mann—Radical Muslim Man *Luis Chavez—Khashul * Saïd Taghmaoui—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 - Farah * Angela Gots - Carli *

Yvette Nicole Brown Yvette Nicole Brown (born August 12, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer and host. She starred as Shirley Bennett on the NBC sitcom ''Community'', as Dani in the 2015 version of '' The Odd Couple'' on CBS and as Dina Rose on the AB ...

- Fatima

Crew

Writers

* Ethan Reiff *

Cyrus Voris Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris are American screenwriters and producers. They are known for their work in both feature films and television. Career 1980s Reiff and Voris met while both were undergraduates at New York University's Tisch School of ...

* Angel Dean Lopez * Alexander Woo * Kamran Pasha * Katherine Lingenfelter * Andrew Barrett * Nina Fiore (writers' assistant)

Directors

Ziad Doueiri Ziad Doueiri ( ar , زياد دويري ; born October 7, 1963) is a Lebanese film director, cinematographer and writer. He is best known for his award-winning films '' West Beirut'' (1998) and '' The Insult'' (2017), a film that was nominated a ...

Guy Ferland Guy Ferland (born February 18, 1966) is an American film and television director. Career After Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film ''Notorious'' inspired him to become a filmmaker, Ferland went on to study cinema production at the University of South ...

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 Internation ...

Leon Ichaso Leon Ichaso (born August 3, 1948) is a Cuban-American writer and film director. Some of his prominent works include El Super, Bitter Sugar, and others. Biography Early life Leon Ichaso was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 3, 1948. Ichaso migrated ...

Leslie Libman Leslie Libman is an American television director. She also directed commercials and music videos. Television work Since 1995 she works primarily as a TV director on a number of television series, most notably directing multiple episodes of '' H ...

Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama ''Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in ...

* 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 Paul Haslinger (born 11 December 1962) is an Austrian musician and composer. He lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Life and career Early life Haslinger was born and raised in Linz, Austria. He attended high school at Kollegium Aloisi ...

(Composer) * Joe Earle (Sound Re-Recording Mixer) *

Elmo Ponsdomenech Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/HBO children's television show '' Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...

(Sound Re-Recording Mixer) * Mark Kamps (Supervising Sound Editor) *

Kevin Roache Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

(Sound Recordist) *

Matt Fausak Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

(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,

Omid Abtahi Omid Abtahi ( fa, امید ابطحی) is an Iranian-American actor. noorfilmfestival.com Accessed 2016-1-28 He is best known for his roles as Salim in Starz Original '' American Gods'', Doctor Pershing in '' The Mandalorian'' on Disney+, Saleem ...

, 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