The Americans is a series created by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg about a pair of "illegals" from the Soviet Union played by Kerri Russell (best known for the series Felicity) and Matthew Rhys living in the United States in the 1980s and spying for Russia. The plot is loosely based on the spy ring that the US uncovered in 2010 as well as Russian Spies in Canada. Rusell and Rhys play Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings who came to the US as young adults after learning how to speak perfect English and blend into American culture. On the outside they seem like the typical 1980s nuclear family with two kids, Paige played by Holly Taylor and Henry played by Keidrich Sellati running a travel agency. They are really deep-cover agents who carry out missions that range from everything from bugging or sabotage to abduction and murder. Life gets even more complicated for them when an FBI agent named Stan Beeman (played by Noah Emmerich) moves in next door. He definitely gets suspicious of the Jennings' comings and goings but mostly accepts that they are normal neighbors. It does incorporate real events (like the assassination attempt of Ronald Regan) into the storylines and uses archival footage to blend in with the story. It also has a great 1980s soundtrack that anyone around back then will recognize.
The show has a strong supporting cast including Annet Mahendru as Nina Sergeevna, Agent Beeman's Soviet mole working in the Soviet Embassy in DC, Margo Martindale as Claudia, the Jennings' KGB supervisor, Susan Misner as Sandra Beeman, Stan's wife, Alison Wright as Martha Hanson, Agent Gaad's secretary and Philip's informant, and Lev Gorn as Arkady Ivanovich, the KGB's second Rezident.
The Blu-Ray extras include deleted scenes, a commentary track on the season finale, a gag reel, and a couple of making-of featurettes. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is good. Even though the show does not have a lot of special effects, the colors in the show really pop, and what effects there are (usually incorporating historical footage) do look great.
Overall, the series is very good. I like the fact that it was set during the Cold War (probably not at the height, but not far removed from the height), which really ramped up the tension in the show. The show does a great job with character development and showing that Elizabeth and Phillip have very different feelings about what they are doing and how they would handle their kids finding out about what they do. The show does push the boundaries of what can be shown on basic cable. There is as much swearing and nudity that they can get away with, and a lot of sexual content. The show does definitely hone in on the "honeypot" aspect of spy work in which spies use sex to get close to and manipulate people in positions to be helpful to them. It is well written and very well acted, and the shorter (thirteen-episode) season definitely leaves the viewers wanting more. So, if you are looking for a good drama, this is definitely one to check out.
The show has a strong supporting cast including Annet Mahendru as Nina Sergeevna, Agent Beeman's Soviet mole working in the Soviet Embassy in DC, Margo Martindale as Claudia, the Jennings' KGB supervisor, Susan Misner as Sandra Beeman, Stan's wife, Alison Wright as Martha Hanson, Agent Gaad's secretary and Philip's informant, and Lev Gorn as Arkady Ivanovich, the KGB's second Rezident.
The Blu-Ray extras include deleted scenes, a commentary track on the season finale, a gag reel, and a couple of making-of featurettes. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is good. Even though the show does not have a lot of special effects, the colors in the show really pop, and what effects there are (usually incorporating historical footage) do look great.
Overall, the series is very good. I like the fact that it was set during the Cold War (probably not at the height, but not far removed from the height), which really ramped up the tension in the show. The show does a great job with character development and showing that Elizabeth and Phillip have very different feelings about what they are doing and how they would handle their kids finding out about what they do. The show does push the boundaries of what can be shown on basic cable. There is as much swearing and nudity that they can get away with, and a lot of sexual content. The show does definitely hone in on the "honeypot" aspect of spy work in which spies use sex to get close to and manipulate people in positions to be helpful to them. It is well written and very well acted, and the shorter (thirteen-episode) season definitely leaves the viewers wanting more. So, if you are looking for a good drama, this is definitely one to check out.
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