Keri Russell
Matthew Rhys
Noah Emmerich
Holly Taylor
Susan Misner
Annet Mahendru
Richard Thomas
Alison Wright
Lev Gorn

Created by:
Joe Weisberg

2013-
Crime, Drama, Mystery
FX
TV-MA

“The Americans,” set during the 1980s, is a show about two Soviet spies who live in the U.S. and have an FBI agent for a neighbor. He’s hunting them down without knowing that he’s hunting them down. Uh oh.

The spies were directed to marry and have kids by the KGB (they’re directed to do other things outside of their marriage, as well), so their relationship is complicated to say the least: They seem to both love and resent each other at the same time.

In its first season, “The Americans” goes through a carefully paced buildup that effectively develops the atmosphere of Reagan’s America during the Cold War (via sepia tones, wardrobe, hair, etc.) and reveals the motivations that drive its principal characters. This show is full of complicated relationships. The first season ends at the height of a crescendo that started from the very first moments of the show. The second season fast-forwards a few months and re-starts that build-up; it’s an even richer experience, as a result.

“The Americans” moves at the perfect pace, a deliberate one that’s not too slow; this is how you do suspense. They don’t shy away from anything here: There’s sex and murder. The writing is smart, and the acting, led by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as the Soviet spies, is top-notch. Noah Emmerich plays the FBI counter-intelligence agent, and Margo Martindale, whom I love, plays the couple’s KGB handler.

The marriage of the KGB spies is at the heart of “The Americans,” and it sets up a conflict for American audiences: You end up rooting for the bad guys (a common theme of television in the 21st century).

“The Americans” will suck you in, if you let it. It’s rewarding television. …

The third season of “The Americans” continues to deliver the goods. It’s just as consistent as its preceding seasons. Plus, Frank Langella joins the cast. Excellent.

Verdict: Great

About: (Source: americans)

The Americans is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington D.C. shortly after Ronald Reagan is elected President. The arranged marriage of Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell), who have two children – 14-year-old Paige (Holly Taylor) and 12-year-old Henry (Keidrich Sellati), who know nothing about their parents’ true identity – grows more passionate and genuine by the day, but is constantly tested by the escalation of the Cold War and the intimate, dangerous and darkly funny relationships they must maintain with a network of spies and informants under their control.  The trickiest of Philip’s sources continues to be Martha (Alison Wright), the assistant to Special Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas).  In order to ensure her continued loyalty, Philip, in the guise of FBI bureaucrat “Clark,” one of his numerous cover identities, marries her. Things were going smoothly until Martha began pressuring Clark to start a family. Their neighbor, FBI Agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), could also prove to be a renewed threat.  When forced to choose between betraying his country or his KGB double-agent and paramour Nina (Annet Mahendru), Stan chose the USA. Nina has been sent back to Moscow to face charges of treason, much to the dismay of her boss Arkady (Lev Gorn), Director of the KGB Rezidentura. In addition to his rededication to his mission of uncovering the identities of the Russian spies living among them, Stan is also attempting to rebuild a relationship with his estranged wife, Sandra (Susan Misner).  Meanwhile, in the Jennings’ house, Philip and Elizabeth find themselves at odds over Paige’s future now that the KGB has made it clear that they want her to join the family business.