The Americans was a drama that aired on FX for six seasons from 2013-2018. It was created by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg and starred Kerri Russel, Matthew Rhys, Holly Taylor, and Noah Emmerich in the leading roles. The rest of the cast varied from season to season, with some of the actor's roles changing over time. Some included Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Alison Wright, Lev Gorn, Costa Ronin, Richard Thomas, Dylan Baker, Frank Langella, Julia Garner, and Margo Martindale.
The series is about a pair of "illegals" from the Soviet Union, played by Kerri Russell (best known for the series Felicity) and Matthew Rhys, who live in the United States in the 1980s and spy for Russia. The 13-episode first season aired during the winter and spring of 2013. The plot is loosely based on the spy ring that the US uncovered in 2010 and Russian Spies in Canada. Rusell and Rhys play Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings, who came to the US as young adults after learning 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 gets suspicious of the Jennings' comings and goings but mostly accepts that they are ordinary neighbors. It incorporates actual events (like the assassination attempt of Ronald Regan) that occurred during the 1980s into the storylines and uses archival footage to blend in with the story. It also has a great 1980s soundtrack with songs that anyone around back then would recognize.
The first season's supporting cast included 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 set is a three-disc set with a modest amount of extras. Those include deleted scenes, a commentary track on the season finale, a gag reel, and a couple of making-of featurettes. The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is good. Even though the show does not have many special effects, the colors really pop, and what effects there are (usually incorporating historical footage) do look great.
Overall, the series is outstanding. I like 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 shows 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 makes viewers want more. So, if you are looking for a good drama, this is definitely one to check out.
The first season's supporting cast included 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 set is a three-disc set with a modest amount of extras. Those include deleted scenes, a commentary track on the season finale, a gag reel, and a couple of making-of featurettes. The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is good. Even though the show does not have many special effects, the colors really pop, and what effects there are (usually incorporating historical footage) do look great.
Overall, the series is outstanding. I like 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 shows 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 makes viewers want more. So, if you are looking for a good drama, this is definitely one to check out.
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