ICYMI: THE AMERICANS

BY: Jeff Daugherty

In Case You Missed It is a series on PROVOKR highlighting cult TV series that have recently made their way to streaming platforms.

The Americans would have been a cultural touchstone spoken of in the same breath as Breaking Bad or Mad Men had it premiered a few years earlier, but by 2013, the Golden Age of Television was in full swing and our DVRs were already full of must-see TV. The FX drama, produced by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg, lasted six seasons on FX before ending in May of 2018. 

The premise? Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys play Cold War-era Soviet spies hiding in plain sight just outside of Washington, DC. Other familiar faces include TV and film mainstay Noah Emmerich and esteemed character actress Margo Martindale. The series begins in 1981, eight years before the fall of the Berlin Wall and depicts the deep undercover KGB officers carrying out their espionage while maintaining the facade of a happy American family. Though they appear to be a loving couple, Russell and Rhys’ characters are hardened Russian spies who put the mission first and dare not dream of domesticity.

It’s hard to say much more without spoiling the many twists and turns in season one alone, so I’ll just have to speak in vague, broad terms: if you like tense cat-and-mouse games and double-crossing double agents, you will be captivated by The Americans. If you’re into Cold War intelligence and counterintelligence, even better. Add in the most bizarre “will they, won’t they” relationship put to screen in recent years and it’s easy to see why The Americans was a critical darling.

Despite enormous critical acclaim, The Americans existed in a crowded TV landscape, and its ratings, hovering above 1 million viewers per episode for three seasons before dipping in the latter half of its run, reflected this. But in the streaming era, ratings don’t mean much. Especially not for a show that won two Peabody Awards, two Writers Guild of America Awards, and 18 Emmy nominations over the course of a lean, 75 episode run. 

If you’re looking for your next period drama, or a show that you can binge over a long weekend indoors, try The Americans, a series with an average rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. All six seasons are included with an Amazon Prime subscription.