# Anybody Watching The Americans on FX?



## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

So it's about a couple living near D.C. in the 80s who are actually KGB agents. I heard an ad for it, thought it sounded interesting, then forgot about it. I realized last week that I actually have access to the episodes through my b-i-l's iTunes account. (He buys a ton of TV shows.) I've watched the pilot and about half of the second episode so far. Is anyone else watching? What do you think so far?


----------



## prairiesky (Aug 11, 2009)

I am watching.  And I am enjoying it.  I am finding it quite interesting.  In the eighties I was raising a young family and honestly didn't give much thought to Russian spies living among us.  It's also fun to see the fashion and furnishings...I had some of those.  Fun to see a large macramé wall hanging similar to one that I had.
It is more a about the relationship between the married spies with some actual spying thrown in.


----------



## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

I'm really enjoying this show. True, it's a bit weird rooting for the 'bad guys,' in this case the Russian couple posing as an 'average' American family, but the dynamic between the husband and wife is interesting and complex. I hope it gets renewed for another season.


----------



## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

Carrie Rubin said:


> I hope it gets renewed for another season.


FX has renewed "The Americans" for a second season of 13 episodes.


----------



## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

DreamWeaver said:


> FX has renewed "The Americans" for a second season of 13 episodes.


Excellent. Thank you!


----------



## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Carrie Rubin said:


> I'm really enjoying this show. True, it's a bit weird rooting for the 'bad guys,' in this case the Russian couple posing as an 'average' American family, but the dynamic between the husband and wife is interesting and complex. I hope it gets renewed for another season.


I agree, it seems like there may be some problems in their relationship in the future as their "duty" conflicts with their feelings for each other. And what about the kids? All kinds of interesting situations possible there if their normal American kids stumble on something they shouldn't.


----------



## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

marianneg said:


> I agree, it seems like there may be some problems in their relationship in the future as their "duty" conflicts with their feelings for each other. And what about the kids? All kinds of interesting situations possible there if their normal American kids stumble on something they shouldn't.


Yes, the writers have a lot of avenues they can take with the family regarding issues that might arrive. Of course, they have to continue to keep the FBI guys one step behind, and I imagine that's what can be tricky with these types of shows.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

Season 3 starts in January.


----------



## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

Lucian said:


> Season 3 starts in January.


Thanks very much for the update, Lucian. I'm really looking forward to it. I thought the first two seasons were great (and far better than some of the reviews suggested).


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

Happy to let folks know. The commercials haven't given a date yet. I also haven't seen any clips. They've just shown the Soviet flag and American flag in... I don't know, ice? And the flags are repositioned and there's a cracking sound.

So either they're going to jump in time to the fall of the Soviet Union and how that will impact them. Or, they'll dramatize some incidents things that made things more perilous.

I don't remember if President Reagan gave his famous Evil Empire speech before or after he was shot. That might give me a clue.

As always, it's possible I'm over-thinking things.

I'll post the date as soon as I find out.


----------



## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks - I'm in England, but we had the first two seasons broadcast here within a few days of you (I'm guessing you're in the US?) so I'm hoping for the same again.

I think it's far superior to _Homeland_, though that was much more popular over here. I think it's profoundly well written and has a lot of significance to say about "the sociology of secrecy", in general.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

I am in the U.S.

I agree it's better than Homeland. I agree it's well written (and acted, and directed, and shot, and scored.) And I agree it has a lot to say about "the sociology of secrecy".

So, while it's _theoretically _possible one of us might be wrong about something, there no practical way _both _of us would be wrong. Which, of course, makes us right.  

Yay, us!


----------



## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

My own guess is that the daughter's going to have a significantly expanded role in the next season? Which could be very interesting.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

If I remember, the spooks wanted to start her in spy training and the dad met with the head of the embassy in a book store and told him he would destroy everything the soviets had done if they went near his daughter again. (I'm paraphrasing.)

So, I think Dad will tolerate her being a bit of a hippy (but not a religious one) but as far as her risking her life, killing, and using her body for the greater good of the state? No way!

Plus, I think the rising body count he's been directly responsible for is getting to him.

Should be a good season.


----------



## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

Do you guys know if they re-run episodes from the first and second season at all? I would like to start watching -- I hear great things, and I love Keri Russell -- but of course I don't want to jump into the middle.


----------



## Maxx (Feb 24, 2009)

I think both seasons are now available on Amazon Prime


----------



## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

Ah, OK. I have Netflix (which does not have the Americans, unfortunately) but not Prime. 

Maybe next time we're eligible for a free trial, I'll have to binge-watch the Americans and Transparent, hehe.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

Attention: The Americans Viewers

Season three starts tonight on fx at 10:00 p.m. in the United States (maybe Canada but I don't know for sure) For the rest of you in the world... I have no information.

There are torrent sights on the internet where you might be able to watch starting tomorrow but I don't know which are safe and which will infect your computer with bad things. If you're feeling lucky (impatient) I wish you the best of luck, but be very careful.

This has been a public service announcement by Lucian.


----------



## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

Thanks for the heads-up!

Now to decide whether to DVR this season and find a way to catch up on season 1-2 on Amazon or something...


----------



## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

Dreadful, terrible news: the third series is not being shown in the UK  

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s220/the-americans/news/a620164/itv-drops-the-americans-wont-acquire-third-season.html#~p2Hhe61Cubkg8z


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

@Karen
How much room do you have on your DVR? Mine has about twenty-four and a half hours. I had six episodes of Covert Affairs and six of White Collar for about a month and made due with the twelve hours I had left over. Good luck.

@Zoe
Wow, I'm so sorry.   Maybe another network will pick it up or you can ask around and find some trustworthy bit torrent sites. Frank Langella is going to be on this season. And he's really good... in everything!


----------



## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I just watched the 1st episode of new season on dvr.  Enjoying this.  Last season they started losing me.  Not sure why, but I saw a few re-runs after I'd already seen them, so it didn't seem that good. Some shows are just as good or better the 2nd time.

Who is the older man they got together with who discussed getting their daughter involved?  I may have seen him before, but I've forgotten who he is.    I'm guessing he is higher up in the Soviet operation or that he may be semi-retired from it?


----------



## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

(I think you meant me when you said Karen?) Well, my DVR is semi-full because I also have all of FX's Tyrant on there... But I'm finally going through those episodes, so as I clear those off, I should have room for the Americans!

Unfortunately I was out last night and forgot to set my DVR for it, so I'll have to find a rerun of last night's ep in addition to catching the rest of the season (which I am setting up RIGHT NOW).


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

@Kristan
Yes, so sorry, Kristan.
My cable program thing says they'll repeat the first episode of the third season Feb 5 @ 12:09 a.m. then, repeating the second episode @1:14 a.m. So, you can record them back-to-back in order next Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Hope it helps.

P.S.
I liked Tyrant a lot. It's coming back for a second season.


@mlewis78
The old guy is a new character. I think they know him from the olden days. He's their new handler.


----------



## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

No worries! And thanks for the info! I've got the whole series set to record now, so I'll just look for that re-run of the first episode and set that to record too. 

Is there a Tyrant thread here? There totally should be! I've only seen the first episode so far, but it was pretty good. Strangely enough, Jamal is the most compelling character to me, even though he's a "bad guy." I wish they would have left out all the sexual assault though -- not only because it seems in bad taste (in terms of "entertainment") but also because it makes him too easy to write off as evil.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

Kristan,

I agree with you. I can't say anything more because everything would be a spoiler. The show is very good but, I'm sure you know, you're in for a bumpy ride as far as bad things happening.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

Alert!

There's a new show about Russian (Soviet?) spies in America called Allegiance. It is on NBC (in the U.S.) and it premieres tonight at 10 p.m.

From the commercials, the spies have a son who works at the CIA and the spies' new handler shows up out of the blue expecting them to turn their son into a Russian asset. I think.

I am withholding judgement until I see at least the first episode.

International viewers, (UK) maybe this could possibly hold you over until The Americans third season shows up in your country? Maybe?


----------



## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Walking to the subway today I saw notices that the Americans is filming in my neighborhood next Wednesday.  No clue why they are filming in Brooklyn....


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

telracs said:


> Walking to the subway today I saw notices that the Americans is filming in my neighborhood next Wednesday. No clue why they are filming in Brooklyn....


You'll have to take a day off of work/family, watch everything they do, and report back as to what you know.

If work/family say you can't, tell them Lucian (LU-shen) said you could. If they don't know who I am, make fun of them. (It's okay if you don't know who I am.)

Tell them I'm an internationally selling author. (True) Tell them I've had two ebooks on various top 100 Thriller subcategories (True) and tell them I've authorized it on behalf of a government agency you're not at liberty to identify (That's not true so be careful there.)

Thanks for volunteering. We're all looking forward to your report and we're all positive you won't let us down because you know, deep down, we're all counting on you.


----------



## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

There is a lot about the show that is over the top, but the bone-breaking on the most recent episode was totally unnecessary.  I'm still watching that one now.


----------



## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

sorry, lucian, i see film crews and go the other way...


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

@mlewis78
I don't want to spoil anything but I thought they we're going to do something involving a saw and the bathtub.


@telracs
Ha ha, I don't blame you. A film crew is a lot like kryptonite to someone going from point A to point B.


----------



## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I can handle the gore, but it is so unnecessary.  We've seen this sort of thing on Sopranos and particularly on Blacklist.

BTW, I asked a question about a plot line on the facebook "Americans" page during wee hours today.  A man made a very nasty remark about if I'd paid attention to the show I would have known. Most of the posts there were just one-liners about the broken bones.  I don't see anything wrong with asking a question about something that I either missed or wasn't explained yet.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

If you want to PM me your question, I'll help if I can. I'm not on facebook. But I do check in on Kboards a few times a day. I can help you (anyone) as soon as I see the episode.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

As for Allegiance... I've seen the first two episodes. There's good news and bad news.

Good news--It's a good show. I think it's well written, directed, acted, and scored. It's different than The Americans but it's still good.

Bad news--The ratings for the first episode were soft. The second episode, even softer. Imagine a marshmallow getting squeezed. If you love spy stories, watch it now before it disappears.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

Allegiance has been canceled after only five episodes. Whoever thought that a brand new show with no one famous in the cast should go up against the number one new drama on TV this year (How to Get Away with Murder) should be punished.

1. The network spent a lot of money on it. 2. It was a good show. 3. Millions of viewers (not enough but still) formed emotional bonds with the characters. And then they fed it to the wood-chipper that is HTGAWM.

It's not that I could do a better job of scheduling, it's that anyone with an IQ above room temperature could've done a better job. Don't feed your new show to a wood-chipper. How hard is that?

I'll let everyone know if/when NBC shows the already shot episodes.

What do you want to bet it ends on a cliffhanger?

In hopefully not related news, the rating for The Americans are not great. I'm hoping that one of the posts above about them shooting in Brooklyn means FX has already committed to a fourth season. Hoping real hard.

With the cancelation of Covert Affairs, those of us who love spy stories have some seriously slim pickins.


----------



## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

Sorry to hear both things (that Allegiance was cancelled and that the Americans S3 isn't getting great reviews). I'm still recording all of S3 in the hopes of getting to watch S1 and S2 someday, maybe through Amazon Prime, or maybe through an FX marathon.

There's always Alias on Netflix, if you're looking to re-live a good spy show. 

Also, dunno if you checked out Marvel's Agent Carter mini-series, but that was really good too. Had an Alias-set-in-the-40s feel, actually.


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

I've got all the Alias DVDs. Thanks for the heads up on Agent Carter.


----------



## Sean Kavanagh (Jan 8, 2015)

great show - but we're getting it late in the UK - so I am reading through my fingers to avoid spoilers!


----------



## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

Sean Kavanagh said:


> great show - but we're getting it late in the UK - so I am reading through my fingers to avoid spoilers!


Which show are you talking about?


----------



## Sean Kavanagh (Jan 8, 2015)

zoe tate said:


> Dreadful, terrible news: the third series is not being shown in the UK
> 
> http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s220/the-americans/news/a620164/itv-drops-the-americans-wont-acquire-third-season.html#~p2Hhe61Cubkg8z


That's terrible. ITV are just hopeless at promoting. Reminds me of when Breaking Bad couldn't get a UK slot either after first series


----------

