'Homecoming': Julia Roberts makes series debuts in psychological thriller

Mr Robot creator Sam Esmail has chosen to adapt a fictional podcast for his next television adventure. Homecoming, a 10-episode psychological mystery thriller that bears some of the paranoid, claustrophobic atmosphere of Esmail's previous work, also offers viewers the television debut of America's sweetheart, Julia Roberts.

It's an initially slow and slightly confusing story set in two periods. The first is the present day where Roberts plays Heidi Bergman, a seemingly sweet and attentive therapist who listens to the stories of psychologically traumatised returned US veterans at the Homecoming Transitional Support Centre - "a safe space for you to reflect on your service and think about what comes next".

Heidi's main relationship is with young vet Walter Cruz (Stephan James) who is trying to come to terms with the death of a friend, "over there" in Afghanistan during his most recent tour. Her other relationship is with the aggressive, ever-on-the-phone incarnation of the middle management shithead Colin Belfast (Bobby Cannavale) - her nominal boss.

The story then jumps four years into the future to 2022, where Heidi is a waitress in her family's seaside diner. There she's approached by a bumbling but dedicated department of justice investigator named Thomas Carrasco (Shea Whigham) who's investigating a complaint involving Walter made against Heidi during her time at Homecoming.

Problem is future Heidi has no idea what the hell Carrasco is on about - she can't remember anything to do with her time at the centre and doesn't know who Walter is.

The stage is set for an increasingly and satisfyingly head-scratching puzzle of a show that is surprisingly reserved in its telling and doesn't veer off into the kind of frustrating, implausible plotlines that have tended to hamper Mr Robot.

Esmail directs all 10 episodes, created in collaboration with the original podcast creators Micah Bloomberg and Eli Horowitz. There are distinctly Hitchcockian touches in his treatment and appreciable moments of dark humour.

WATCH | The trailer for Homecoming

Though it takes a few episodes to get your head around, once you fall under its spell it's very difficult to escape its grasp and not keep tuning into each of its tightly wound 30-minute episodes.

If Mr Robot is a paranoid take-down of the digital age then Homecoming is a frightening exploration of the relationship between the military and private enterprise.

In this age of political, economic and psychological uncertainty, Esmail has managed to craft himself a space as the prime interrogator of the fears brought about by a world in which power relations and corporate machinations seem increasingly beyond our comprehension.

In this case he's helped by a series of exceptional performances, not least from Roberts, who sheds her Pretty Woman skin in favour of a down-to-earth and believable ordinary woman performance much more in the vein of Erin Brokovich, but conducted on a canvas that gives her far more room to manoeuvre.

Heidi's relationship with Walter is real and touching and full of the kind of grasping towards mutual understanding that characterises most of our relationships.

Cannavale also gives strong support as the embattled macho-posing manager, who sometimes manages to convince you he may have a heart hidden somewhere under his ever-present phone.

Whigham threatens to steal the show with his Peter Falk evocation of the investigator who's not quite as dumb as he looks but not as smart as you think, and his face's mix of befuddled dismay and churning brain machinery is a treasure.

With a final episode that sets up the almost certain return of a second season, it will be interesting to see whether Esmail can rein in his baroque tendencies to continue Heidi's search for the truth. For now, Homecoming is one of the most intriguing and well-executed shows out there in this ever-filling moment of increasingly strange but provocative peak television drama.

• 'Homecoming' is available on Amazon Prime Video.