The second season of “The Americans” ended up on many 2014 Top 10 lists (including mine), and there’s no reason to believe Season 3 won’t be a contender for 2015 best-of rosters as well.
The first four episodes of Season 3 are every bit as taut and finely crafted as the stellar prior season of the show, and below, I offer a roster of reasons to get caught up if you’ve never seen “The Americans.” I actually envy anyone who hasn’t sampled this Keri Russell-Matthew Rhys spy drama before: New comrades have an enjoyable TV binge ahead of them. (Seasons 1 and 2 are on DVD and Amazon Prime.)
There are many different kinds of worthwhile TV these days, but I cannot think of a show on television that has more reliable dramatic engines than “The Americans.” The show’s premise is relatively straightforward: Two married spies from the Soviet Union live undercover as Americans in a Washington, D.C., suburb in the early ’80s. Philip and Elizabeth Jennings sometimes doubt their mission and each other, yet their historical bonds to their homeland cause them to continue to put themselves in great danger as the Reagan-era Cold War heats up. Unlike many spies paired up for undercover work, the Jennings’ have fallen in love with each other, an unexpected development both are still adjusting to. Despite their differing opinions on the American way of life — Elizabeth is more anti than Philip — their deepening emotional bonds with each other and their love for their two unsuspecting children lead both to question the massive lies at the core of their lives.
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“The Americans” airs 10 p.m. Wednesday on FX.
Ryan McGee and I discussed “The Americans,” “Fortitude” and “Better Call Saul” on the most recent Talking TV podcast, which is here, on iTunes and below.
