97 replies to this topic

[Amester0120]

Looked for a thread for this but couldn't find one.

New FX series premiering at the end of the month in American Horror Story's time slot.

Synopsis from FX.com:

The Americans, created by Joe Weisberg and starring Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys and Noah Emmerich, is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington DC shortly after Ronald Reagan is elected President. The arranged marriage of Phillip (Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Russell), who have two children who know nothing about their parents true identity, grows more passionate and genuine by the day, but is constantly tested by the escalation of the Cold War and the intimate, dangerous and darkly funny relationships they must maintain with a network of spies and informants under their control. Complicating their relationship further is Phillip's growing sense of affinity for America's values and way of life. Tensions also heighten upon the arrival of a new neighbor, Stan (Emmerich), an FBI agent working in counter intelligence.

There have been a few teasers over the past couple months but here are some of the longer promos:

All is Fair in Love and Cold War
Secret Spies
Elizabeth

I'm tentatively excited about this, mostly because of FX's advertising (they do a great jobs marketing their shows). Though I don't think I see a ton of chemistry between Russell and Rhys.

Edited by Amester0120, Jan 3, 2013 @ 3:51 PM.

[bulldawgtownie]

Yeah, tentatively excited would be an apt description for me too. I like the premise, and FX has a good track record but to be honest the promos I've seen have been underwhelming. I think this show could either be really good or really bad, there's no middle ground here. Also I'm not a fan of Russell but hopefully she surprises me.

[mishy]

I too agree with tentatively excited. It has all the elements I like in a show plus actors I enjoy. I hope it doesn't suck. The trailer or long commercial or whatever it was in front of The Hobbit a few weeks ago actually looked better than the ones on TV but I haven't seen it online anywhere.

[ethanvahlere]

I'm tentative about this one as well. I've liked Keri Russell since Felicity (plus, I've met her a couple of times, and she's nice), and I'm very interested in the subject matter. But there's something so self-conscious about the shows on F/X in general, and I hope this avoids that trap.

[johntfs]

Interestingly, this show's storyline was essentially the plot of this week's Elementary.

[Freckles101]

I am ridiculously excited for this show. I've been looking forward to it since August when FX first picked it up, as spies and undercover marrieds are two of my favorite tropes, and the fact that this is set during the Cold War makes it even better for me. Shades of Jack and Irina from Alias if they were both Russian spies (especially since Russell's character is the KGB hardliner), which I am so here for. Judging from the trailers, I'm definitely intrigued (and IMO there is a decent amount of chemistry between the two leads), and I'm really hoping it is good/gets good ratings, because the concept is a conflagration of so many things I love in one place.

This is kind of long, but it's a panel with Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and a few of TPTB about the show from some event in Cannes, which I found pretty interesting.

Edited by Freckles101, Jan 4, 2013 @ 8:10 PM.

[Scrb]

I haven't followed Keri Russell's career since Felicity but has she ever performed as well as she did back then? It seems like she's mostly had minor or supporting roles since that show.

She's got the teen humiliation and drama part down but can she express other emotions through her roles?

[ethanvahlere]

Scrb, did you ever see Waitress? That was a romantic comedy/drama where she played the lead role, and I not only think she was able to carry the movie (with the able help, of course, of her love interest, Nathan Fillion, and a supporting cast that included Cheryl Hines, Eddie Jemison, Andy Griffith, and writer-director Adrienne Shelly, who also wrote a good script), but I didn't think of Felicity once while watching it.

[biakbiak]

Yeah I thought she was great in Waitress, also why they didn't know what to do with her character on Running Wilde she had some nice moments.

[Bruinsfan]

The big warning flag about this to me is the FBI counter-intelligence agent who just happens to move in next door. There better be an actual reason for that big a coincidence, like suspecting them and setting up a sting, because an entire season of Emmerich playing Gladys Kravitz to Rhys and Russel's Darrin and Samantha Stevens is just not going to fly.

[bulldawgtownie]

because an entire season of Emmerich playing Gladys Kravitz to Rhys and Russel's Darrin and Samantha Stevens is just not going to fly

Wow.... you're old for making that reference and I'm old for knowing what you're talking about. :)

[Bruinsfan]

Well, I didn't watch the show first-run, but it was in syndication throughout my childhood.

[attica finch]

If this takes place in the 80's, Keri's hair needs to be waaaaay bigger than we're seeing in promo. Or shorter and Benatar-y. Without that detail, everyone's gonna know she's a mole! (Or is Russell too gunshy of lopping off locks?...)

[bulldawgtownie]

(Or is Russell too gunshy of lopping off locks?...)

I don't know if that was a joke or not. But I didn't watch a second of Felicity and still I remember the huge uproar/outrage/whatever that happened when Kerri Russell cut her hair in between seasons. That's how big of a deal it was in pop culture.

[Dejana]

The show is set shortly after Reagan's election. I agree that Keri's hair in the clips looks a little "off" but it wouldn't necessarily have to be gigantic to be authentic for the times (People magazine's covers from 1980 and 1981 show a range of female hairstyles/volumes).

The FBI agent living next door to the Russian spies seems a bit contrived but they are living in DC, so you're going to have a lot of people who work for federal agencies around, and TV shows generally need a coincidence or two to move along the plot.

[Featherhat]

The Americans Title Sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4AccLsUEsU

Appropriately reminiscent of Homeland's with an 80's theme.

[AimingforYoko]

As I noted in another thread, I love the promos with Eminence Front, but the nitpicker in me needs to point out that this takes place in 1981 and It's Hard wasn't released until 1982.

[benteen]

I love an 80s setting for a show or a movie. Add to that that the premise looks pretty interesting, I will definitely be watching the premeire next week.

Also, with the 80s setting, they'll be none of our modern day technology around to try and catch them. That'll be a relief to see. I mean, how much time do television shows and movies dedicate to people speaking on cell phones? A lot.

Edited by benteen, Jan 24, 2013 @ 1:13 PM.

[WindSprints]

I'm looking forward to this show. I like the actors and the promos look interesting. I'll definitely be watching the first couple of episodes to see how it is.

"The Americans" First Look
MIPCOM 2012 WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENINGS THE AMERICANS The interviews start about 5 minutes in.

[petunia846]

I keep running into things about this show online (most recently a NYTimes article) and I think it sounds great. I'm a sucker for spies and I grew up in the DC area in the 80s, so I look forward to the setting as well. It looks like there's a lot of potential here, so hopefully things go well.

[zombygirl]

I'm really looking forward to this. I love period settings, no matter when they are.

[WindSprints]

Review: FX's 'The Americans' brings the Cold War back to life

[Cameltoes]

I just found about this show and I am super excited as I have mad love for Keri Russell. She's played a lot of moms and pregnant women in the last several years but, happily, the spy storyline gives her momness a bit of a darker edge. The thread title is kind of funny since Alias was based on the idea, "What if Felicity was a spy?"

[Navin]

I'm looking forward to this. I'm a big fan of espionage stories, especially ones that are more realistic and are not James Bondish action/adventure stories. I tend to read more non-fiction espionage books than fiction ones. Despite some scenes of shootings, car chases and other exciting stuff in the promo, this show looks more like a drama than an action show. Guess I'll find out tonight.

Edited by Navin, Jan 30, 2013 @ 7:56 AM.

[WindSprints]

One more review - New York Times

[NicoleMN6]

I loved Keri Russell in "Felicity" and she was also great in "Mission Impossible III," where she had some fight scenes. Didn't like her in Waitress, since I couldn't buy her playing a struggling waitress -- there's something too high-end about her look, and her accent kept wavering. "The Americans" looks awesome, but I agree that her hair is all wrong for the character. I understand her not wanting to monkey with the length again after the "Felicity" nonsense, but wouldn't her natural curly hair make more sense?

Also, I'll have a hard time not rolling my eyes if Russell's character piles on the dark eyeliner when she goes on missions, to distinguish herself from when she's playing the part of the suburban mom :-)

Edited by NicoleMN6, Jan 30, 2013 @ 12:58 PM.

[Gabrielle Tracy]

I recently finished reading an old favorite novel of mine, "The Charm School" by Nelson DeMille. It was about a school set up in the woods of Russia where spies were taught every little nuance they needed to pass for Americans. The "graduates" would then somehow end up in the United States with forged paperwork and a fictional past and live the rest of their lives spying for Russia. Love the book!

I feel like The Americans is giving me a chance to see how it pans out when the graduates get to work.

Can't wait.

[christina_ma]

Oops wrong thread....

Edited by christina_ma, Jan 31, 2013 @ 12:48 AM.

[KillaBri]

Gotta say that was a solid pilot, and I'm surprised it was able to remain that way over an unusually lengthy 97 minutes. I did think that the FBI agent moving across the street was more than a bit hokey, but hopefully his initial investigation (read: illegal breaking and entering) will throw him off Phillip's scent for a bit.

I am interested to see how the dynamic unfolds of Phillip pretty clearly entertaining ideas of defecting and becoming a family man vs. Elizabeth's willingness to die for the motherland. I am guessing that will be a source of tension going forward, and their marriage seems anything but ideal... which is exactly what you'd expect from an arranged marriage. Going by the timeline, but not knowing how much time elapses during each episodes, I am going to guess that the Reagan assassination attempt happens fairly early on and just turns up the heat and complicates things even further.

All in all, I'll definitely be watching next week.

[Dragoonster]

Excellent pilot, with good acting and scripting.

My main concern now is that this might become a "bad guys" not actually doing "bad things" series. If the couple never actually murders a (non-corrupt/terrible) American, for example, this will be a complete waste of time and copout.

The only two people they murdered/ordered threat-of-murder thus far were a Soviet defector and child molester. If those are the only types they'll kill from now on, this show may as well be retitled "Criminal Minds: 1980s" or "Dexter: Soviet Spy Edition".

Additional to that:

1. I get that these are the main characters and sympathy is the general drama course. But why not sympathy with their trying to follow and break free of their past while still showing them murdering innocents?

2. I reckon in their last 18 years in the US they've killed Americans in the past. So why only start the series now, when they're both conflicted and so may never murder again, and so may broach sympathy? And BANALITY. How about some choices not ala "murder Soviet defector or lose family", but rather "murder random low-level FBI agent or lose cover"????

3. From previews there was a scene where the chick has a rifle aimed at a (US politician?), and a bang is heard. From just this premiere, apparently she didn't actually shoot him, since that would mean one of the characters actually is bad. (Instead of "bad". That or the fellow she did shoot was an immoral monster). FX, you've done some crazy shit in the past and been challenging. Hope you aren't losing your balls. I'm completely not interested in a series about a do-gooding Soviet spy cell.

Edited by Dragoonster, Jan 31, 2013 @ 5:30 AM.