Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Mandy Patinkin, who in 2007 left "Criminal Minds" saying he loathed violence on television, returns to the small screen Sunday (Oct. 2) in Showtime's new "Homeland" — a series already notorious among critics for its scenes of Damian Lewis' Marine character being tortured. How does Patinkin explain this seeming contradiction?

"It's very artfully done," he responds, "and it is not the central issue, by any means, of this piece. I find the sex and violence in this piece incredibly minimal, artfully done and non-offensive to me. This is entertainment first and foremost, and very much a psychological thriller. It goes to the core of why we are all in the positions we are in and who is responsible for the terrorism and the violence that has taken place in the world. It is very much a whodunit, very much a mystery, a spy story."

The beloved performer plays CIA Middle East Division Chief Saul Berenson, the boss of Claire Danes' character. She becomes convinced that Lewis, returned to the United States after years of having gone missing in Afghanistan, may have turned and may now be part of an al-Qaida plot.

Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa of "24" fame are producing the intense new drama.

"You are really in the hands of masters here," Patinkin adds, "and they're really sensitive to this stuff."

The actor certainly came to his role prepared. He did a great deal of research, which, he says, "I always love doing. They sent me a bunch of books — definitive books about this world and these people, who are called 'spooks.' Then they hooked me up with the real guy who held a similar position to what I play — someone who has been all over the Middle East and knows where all the secrets are buried. We went down to Langley," he says, referring to the CIA headquarters. "I met his family."

Danes' character is almost like a daughter to Patinkin's, he says. "I'm the father figure and mentor to her. She is my child in terms of my character bringing her into this. She's an extraordinarily gifted human being, but troubled." Of Danes herself, Patinkin says, "She is amazing — as a person and as an actress. She really is one of the best in terms of acting ability, which is a real gift to me at this point."

WORTH A SECOND LOOK: Interior-design-king-cum-daytime-TV-star Nate Berkus tells us that with the second season of his "The Nate Berkus Show," "I think what I've done is go back to doing what I love.

I really missed being out of the studio the first year." Thus, viewers can expect to see more of Nate out in the field, "ringing doorbells, surprising people, helping them transform their places, transform their lives."

Berkus just celebrated his big four-oh birthday, an occasion that gave him reason to reflect, as well as to celebrate. "The show has taught me a lot," he says, "most importantly, that we really all have this great connection. We all share common ground. The show is really far-reaching. I've gotten to meet people from all across the country, some in crisis, some in celebration ... It's a connection that's really important to me."

Along the way, Berkus says he's seen fresh reminders that "we all want to live better, no matter how much money we have or don't have."

And regardless of age. The other day, he says, he encountered a viewer who told him he'd been inspired to make a major change in his life after watching "The Nate Berkus Show" episode with Nate and Dr. Ruth. "He said, 'I wanted to show that old people can change and that old people can really be healthy.' So it's not always about design, not about making things pretty. Living with style can mean a lot of different things."

Favorite Berkus show pieces are back, like Paycheck-to-Paycheck Makeovers — "room transformations based on what you can afford to do and how to spend your dollars." And then there's House Proud, "where we invite a viewer to show what they've achieved in their own home, and how other viewers can achieve something like it." The latter "was my idea last year," notes the affable host and Oprah favorite. It came from all of Nate's years of babysitting as a kid, when, he says, "I loved to snoop and see how other people were living. I loved looking around their homes. I guess it was a kind of voyeurism," he says with a laugh.

Who'd have guessed it would lead to all of this?

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: Kathryn Hahn refers to her "Free Agents" leading man, Hank Azaria, as the busiest man in show biz. Not only are the two actors putting their all into the new NBC comedy, but Hank is also keeping up with his "The Simpsons" voiceover work between camera calls. Sometimes, he actually does his "Simpsons" work on the set of "Free Agents."

"They need me to be by a phone, at the very least," explains Hank.