A thread for The Americans on FX

This show, like The Shield, is just such a perfect, almost classically perfect, tragedy. We don't know how it will end, but everyone seems to hurtling toward a set point.

I'd love to see this show's viewership blow up and win awards and whatever in the final two seasons like Breaking Bad did, after several seasons of being a critical cult favorite. Everyone involved in this show deserves a toast.

I agree, but I can kind of see how this slowly paced often deeply miserable show isn't crazily popular.

Landgraf explained that they look at three factors: Viewership, critics and what they themselves love, and if two out of three are good, they will keep a show on. FX needs lots of different kinds of shows to keep the channel in every cable package, so a small but passionate fanbase might be ok at this point. They probably won't get a massive budget increase to create a CGI nuclear war or anything, but for a couple of actors and a truckload of wigs, that should be ok.

lol https://twitter.com/jonmladd/status/831901743948644353

also lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqBxUgqe8eQ

They were filming the Americans in a church in my neighborhood last week. Presumably a Pastor Tim plotline. Sadly didn't see any of the cast in their 80s finery. If Philip is decked out in a ridiculous disguise when this episode airs I will have a twinge of regret at not hanging around longer.

Omg!

And that Sabotage clip is so otm, so good.

this can't come soon enough!

good thing on the bbc today about real life illegal jack barsky: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38846022

For some reason I thought this was going to be the last season. Now there's more to look forward to.

Thanks for that link! Xp

Only yesterday I learned Russell and Rhys are a couple in real life! o_O Mind blown. Think I'm thankful I did not know this when watching it. But boy, that makes their tense acting when a couple even more impressive imho.

I think it's the regular 13 episodes this year and then 10 in 2018. xp

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C5_8EJpWgAIfMVz.jpg

(via 'The Americans' lucks out with its ads in the New York Times

TONIGHT, PEOPLE! (won't be able to see it till tomorrow, but so so stoked for the new season!)

Can we get a policy on spoilers here? Personally (and I've expressed this upthread and elsewhere) I think discussions should be unrestricted. If you want to avoid spoilers simply don't click on the thread until you've watched the latest episode.

Right, just assume that any posts made during/after an episode's airing will contain free talk about that episode until the next episode airs.

I think discussions should be unrestricted. If you want to avoid spoilers simply don't click on the thread until you've watched the latest episode.

Absolutely.

yeah I think this has always been a spoilery zone

I'm glad they're going to get more attention this year even if I'm already fatigued with russia fever

i felt it had dipped a bit by s4, not that i can actually remember what happened in that season. i am still excited to see this tho.

I felt like that for the first half (it was getting truly grim and oppressive, unsustainably so) but the way they pivoted midway through was brilliant I thought

I think it was an ILX poster who once said on another thread on the subject of spoilers something along the lines of - some characters get killed, some get fucked, and then the credits roll up - it's no biggie!

This is the only tv series I still watch on the actual television, all the the rest is just background ambience for the daily exercise bike sesh.

I think discussions should be unrestricted. If you want to avoid spoilers simply don't click on the thread until you've watched the latest episode.

Absolutely. I'll be avoiding the thread until I've seen the new episode.

So there's an agriculture theme this year. I hope this doesn't turn out like the X-files with the bees. lol

Lots to chew on so far.

They really jumped right in running on this one didn't they? I was very confused at the start!

But that grave robbing scene... eeuugh. Incidentally maybe I missed something but how the heck did they work out where the coffin was?

They spent literally half the season premiere digging a hole, and it was still awesome. This show rules.

Oh, and I would totally watch a show that was just Oleg's adventures rooting out food industry corruption in Moscow.

Oleg rules.

They spent literally half the season premiere digging a hole, and it was still awesome.

I *love* that this was their first episode back after getting more media attention due to the Russia factor

how the heck did they work out where the coffin was?

I guess the satellite photo Gabriel gave them had more detail to it than we were shown. But I didn't think about that until after the show was over. I spent time, too, wondering how they knew where to dig.

Yeah all I picked up was one minute theyre looking at a sat map, the next theyre cutting thru a fence and I thought "oh ok they have to spend hours testing holes, Time Team stylez, to find the coff...ohwait no they found it wtf"

the wordlessness of those last 10 minutes -- apart from the final getting-rid-of-hans sequence -- made me sit up.

Thought the cold open was masterful.

After they opened up the coffin, after ten (?) minutes of glorious silence, my mind started playing The Smiths:

"William, William it was really nothing
William, William it was really nothing
It was your life.."

What a first episode! And the balls on the writers to devote a third on digging into a grave. Thoughts like 'how did they know it was exactly there' didn't cross my mind watching it tbh. It was mesmerizing and I probably could have watched them open that up with every scoop of mud, in real time. Poor Hans tho.

Another takeaway from this episode: things will go from bad to worse for Paige won't they? It was anxious seeing how her role developed the last season, but this season it will probably be downright brutal. Finding out your whole life was a lie, trying to adapt to that, not even being able to have a first love... Damn.

how the heck did they work out where the coffin was?

Something something spy stuff etc.

hans' relationship with elizabeth in that last moment was very ugh. "it's alright, it's alright"

I must have blinked when they said what they were up to or showed an establishing shot (if they did) because my wife and I were all "why are they digging a hole? did someone bury a weapon? is someone going to get buried in the hole so that they can sneak out later!? are they going to break into a pipe?!" When they finally opened the box we were all ooooooooooooooh!

I was surprised it was Hans that didn't make it. I was sure, what with red shirt (literally?) number three and four on board that it would be someone else that bought it.

Loved the cold open with the alternate family, though it almost pushes things a tad too far. I've always had an issue with the random death count on the show (guy on bus, guy on parking lot, etc.), which alone would be enough for Russia to call a spy out of there. But the idea of there apparently being dozens of deep cover agents and their helpers, I dunno. Don't ultimately care, because it is fantasy and exemplary and perfectly executed, just something that's bugged me a bit.

Looking forward to whatever comes of Oleg. Hopefully he doesn't get the Nina treatment.

I had to go to IMDB to make sure the actor playing their new fake son wasn't the guy who played Jianyu on The Good Place. Very similar voice, and just enough of a physical resemblance that I wasn't sure.

No one on last weeks episode? In truth, it wasn't the best, but the greenhouse scene with the bugs getting all over Elizabeths face was reminiscent of the better X-Files suspense scenes imho. Also poor Oleg, probably getting dragged back into a place where he doesn't want to be.

Philip and Liz turning to some b minus tricks to keep their daughter from having sex/committing was a hard sell imho.

On the podcast, the show runners said there's no real world basis for the "trick," which makes me think they just wanted to resolve a problem in the laziest way possible.

Also, I called the X-Files thing after E1, half-joking, and was then super disappointed when it happened.

Yeah, great. Superbugs. Okay.

Yeah I sort of agree. What podcast is this btw?

the rubbing your fingers together schtick was not so good.

Where did they hide Henry? I hope they do an entire episode just from his perspective, where we discover he's been up to all sorts of crazy shit.

xps Here's the podcast for listening to on the browser: http://podbay.fm/show/962741924

If you want to subscribe to it with your mobile app, just look for "Americans" + "Slate"

It's one of the weirder tv podcasts I've ever subscribed to. Sometimes they spend zero time talking about the episode in question, and instead interview people in casting or costume or people with real world knowledge of dialects and KGB spy technology. The showrunners are almost always present, though, and directly involved with the podcast. Sometimes actors will drop in, but not always.

That sounds intruiging, thanks Johnny!

I love this show so fucking much

Yay, Roxy Music!

The scene with Elizabeth coaching Paige on "how relationships work" was so goddamn brutal

Oh damn, I got distracted watching the Dave Chappelle specials on Netflix and totally blanked on this last night. Still trying to get used to it being Tuesday night show.

An interesting interview with Holly Taylor (Paige).