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[Stumpokapow]

damnit, why couldn't it have been Kurt Russell instead? :{

Gay married Soviet sleeper agents in the 1980s US would be kind of neat.

 

[Mercury Fred]

Definitely looking forward to this one. Hope the show can live up to the terrific premise.

 

[Cornballer]

- LA Times: 'The Americans' on FX bets viewers will warm up to Cold War

Gay married Soviet sleeper agents in the 1980s US would be kind of neat.

Heh. Yeah, I'd watch that.

 

[charsace]

WoW, Keri Russell's like fine wine.


Did that really happen? I started college and missed the final seasons.

Yes, it did happen.

 

[Dan]

Margo Martindale? I hope she's not playing the 'behind the counter helper' character again. I remember her from early Dexter seasons playing an archivist[?]and right this moment watching her in Persons of Interest doing something extremely similar.
What a role to be typecasted into!

Spoiler

Yes I can very well imagine her playing many other roles. But I just can't imagine it.

Graham Yost is an EP on this, and we all know he's fully aware of Margo Martindale's talent after using her to amazing effect on Justified. I doubt they hired her for a thankless role.

 

[Cornballer]

At the premiere last night:

- Calgary Herald: The Americans are coming
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: ‘Americans’ a plausible Cold War spy drama

 

[Cornballer]

- Wall Street Journal review: The Spies Across the Street

Between the spy and family drama here, the dull moments are likely to be few and far between.

- NY Post review: Nyet-flix

This isn’t “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” more like an agreeably silly cat-and-mouser with dead-on music cues.

 

[AndyD]

Saw the ads so I set it to record. I will probably give it 2-3 episodes. But the premise is interesting, so I hope its good.

 

[Niraj]

Going to check out the first few to see how it is. Looks pretty good from the trailers.

 

[charsace]

Time travel? I thought it was just some regular show about a girl!

Yep.

 

[BertramCooper]

Pretty psyched for this.

I'm desperate for an intelligent espionage thriller to replace the void left by Homeland's rapid descent into dogshit.

 

[Cornballer]

- For the UK folks: ITV Buys 'The Americans' For U.K. Viewers

ITV has sealed a two-year deal for the show slated to premiere on the channel "in the coming months."

 

[Jarmel]

I haven't seen this show but holy shit that promo pic at the top is terrible.

The catchphrase makes it look like a comedy.

 

[Steelyuhas]

The catchphrase makes it look like a comedy.

Yeah that tagline is truly terrible, I'm very hopeful for the series though, previews look good and reviews are good.

 

[Cornballer]

- Newsday: 'The Americans' review: Spy drama another FX winner

BOTTOM LINE Smart newcomer with a pair of leads that turns "The Americans" into a likely winner. GRADE A-

 

[maquiladora]

- Newsday: 'The Americans' review: Spy drama another FX winner

yes.gif

 

[Freewheelin']

- For the UK folks: ITV Buys 'The Americans' For U.K. Viewers

Excellent, was just about to ask if this was being shown over here.

 

[Cornballer]

- Maureen Ryan: 'The Americans' Review: Keri Russell Gets Her Spy On

Critics were sent the first two episodes, and I was going to keep watching anyway, partly because Elizabeth and Philip are so good at deceiving everyone, partly because Rhys and Russell do a fine job of showing the cost of those deceptions, and partly because both are surprisingly convincing in their action scenes. But knowing Margo Martindale, formerly of FX's "Justified," will recur this season is one more reason to put "The Americans" on the must-watch list.

- Philly.com: 'The Americans' are really KGB agents in bold new FX show

The Americans may be a tricky concept to sustain, because it means bringing the protagonists to the very brink of discovery on a regular basis. But for now, it's a daring tightrope walk, full of action and suspense.

 

[The Interrobanger]

I'm all over this.

 

[Fantastical]

Cannot wait for this. Sounds excellent!

 

[Cornballer]

- Ed Bark: The Americans takes FX to the head of prime-time's class

The Americans enthralls with its complexities, simplicities and overall derring-do. GRADE: A-

- SF Chronicle: 'The Americans' review: Spies are people too

"The Americans" benefits from convincing performances by the cast, but Weisberg's concept and writing in the first two episodes make the show much more than "just" a spy thriller.

 

[totoro'd]

Seriously can't wait!

 

[ThisWreckage]

FX is the best network on television. That includes HBO and I thought I'd never say that.

 

[Cornballer]

- Salon.com: “The Americans”: Russian spies in a fake marriage have very real problems

This gripping, wonderfully sly Cold War–set espionage series riffs on our very current foreign policy fears

- Variety: The Americans

"The Americans" is an intriguing and provocative concept -- positing the idea of Soviet spies living in plain sight, during the early days of the Reagan administration. The execution, alas, initially isn't worthy of the premise, becoming fairly standard spy stuff, and relying heavily on awkward flashbacks to fill in the backstory. While the first two episodes contain enough promise to merit continued surveillance, what emerges is more notable for its '80s soundtrack and duck-and-cover-drill paranoia than its cat-and-mouse games or Cold War rekindling.

- NY Times: Typical American Couple, Married to the K.G.B.

“The Americans,” a new series that begins on Wednesday on FX, is also a remarkable accomplishment: It’s a subtle, complex portrait of a relationship etched into an engaging espionage thriller set in 1981, when Reagan was newly elected, and cars were big, and so was the cold war. The marriage of Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) was arranged by the K.G.B. in the 1960s. Their ties and tensions are professional but also personal, and so intertwined that it’s impossible for either fully to read, or trust, the other.

 

[Steelyuhas]

FX is the best network on television. That includes HBO and I thought I'd never say that.

Disagreed, but I think that FX is right up there. A great quality lineup year round now.

 

[Cornballer]

- Daily Beast: Keri Russell On ‘The Americans,’ Sleeper Agents, Motherhood & More

On FX’s The Americans, which begins Wednesday, Keri Russell plays a Soviet sleeper agent in 1980s suburban D.C. Jace Lacob talks with the former Felicity star about Russian spies, secret lives, and being a mom.

 

[Cornballer]

- Chicago Sun Time: Blast from the ’80s past in new FX thriller ‘The Americans’

It’s a fresh, compelling story about a couple of KGB operatives pretending to live the American dream as a married couple with kids in suburban Washington, D.C. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

- Kansas City Star: ‘The Americans’ are spies like us

“The Americans,” FX’s smart espionage drama, puts the enemy in Guess jeans and an Oldsmobile with Juice Newton on the eight-track.

 

[Cornballer]

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

Based on the admittedly small sample size of two episodes, “The Americans” feels like it could very comfortably slot in with the upper tier of FX dramas. That’s about as good as it gets.

Also, 10 minutes on "The Americans" in this week's Fienberg-Sepinwall podcast.

 

[Cornballer]

- Boston Globe: By episode 2, though, after the crammed (and super-sized) premiere, Weisberg reveals a sure sense of detail that bodes well for the future of the series.


One more reminder that it's a 97 minute premiere tomorrow night, so adjust your DVR if necessary. It's immediately followed by two encore presentations of the premiere.

 

[Snake]

Those reviews are pretty good. Definitely raises my anticipation.

 

[B For Bendetta]

Stoked for this. DVR is set

 

[Steelyuhas]

One more reminder that it's a 97 minute premiere tomorrow night, so adjust your DVR if necessary. It's immediately followed by two encore presentations of the premiere.

97 minutes on FX, so 5 more minutes of show, 32 more minutes of commercials amiright?! RIMSHOT.GIF

 

[Cornballer]

Series premiere tonight!

Pilot

Spoiler

Married KGB spies pose as Americans in Washington, D.C. after Ronald Reagan is elected president.

 

[Meier]

I was already excited about this and then I saw Margo is in it. Yes! FX has pretty much never made a poor show so I can't wait.

 

[Escape Goat]

I'm surprised nobody has mined this particular time period in TV. Its such a rich period to exploit from an entertainment standpoint.

 

[Fantastical]

One more reminder that it's a 97 minute premiere tomorrow night, so adjust your DVR if necessary. It's immediately followed by two encore presentations of the premiere.

Didn't know this. YES. Doesn't really matter to me since I can't watch it tonight anyways...we lost FX when we got basic cable.

 

[Nemesis_]

Depressed that AHS is now done, but this replacement seems quite good. Thought it had started quite recently, but a nice surprise to see that it starts tomorrow.

Hope it lives up to it's admittedly ambitious premise.

 

[Cornballer]

Thought it had started quite recently, but a nice surprise to see that it starts tomorrow.

Tonight, actually.

 

[Zoe]

I didn't notice until now that this is set in the 80's. I was wondering how they were gonna make it work :lol

 

[Nemesis_]

Tonight, actually.

Oh, it's tomorrow for me. (Australia).

 

[Cornballer]

Oh, it's tomorrow for me. (Australia).

Ah, ok. Just wanted to make sure there was no confusion on the date.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

Interested to see how this turns out, definitely in for the first episode. Just speculation from what I've seen in the trailers but

Spoiler

The part I'm most intrigued by is that Keri Russel's character seems to be the more aggressive and dominant one. While her husband seems more unsure about what they are doing. Nice flip of the script to see a hot headed woman in a spy dram

 

[Cornballer]

- Poniewozik for Time Magazine: TV Tonight - The Americans

So as much as The Americans is the thriller you’d expect–tense, well-paced and laced with well-curated period detail–it’s also an intriguing study of marriage as partnership. Reversing the common order of things, The Americans asks whether marital routine can develop into actual love.

 

[Cornballer]

- Sneak peek clip from tonight's premiere (Facebook vid, please spoiler tag any discussion)

 

[Mononoke]

Well, I'm looking forward to this. I've been nothing but impressed with FX's dramas. Can't wait to check it out.

 

[Cornballer]

- Matt Zoller Seitz: The Americans - A Dark Fantasy, Starring Mr. and Mrs. Smithsky

The Americans might take a while to find its footing — most shows do; but it already has a personality, a pulse of life. I have no idea how long it can sustain its premise without seeming repetitious, but for now, I’m hooked.

 

[Cornballer]

- Fresno Bee: Keri Russell takes on new kind of role in "The Americans"
- CNN: Keri Russell Plays Spy in New TV Show

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I'm really looking forward to the pilot tonight.

 

[Cornballer]

- Andy Greenwald for Grantland: Spies Like Us

The Americans is outstanding television: It pops and crackles like only expert genre entertainment can.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

I think this is a teaser for a KGB undercover agent that appears later in the season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i14Lpds5ZcE