The Americans is one of the best dramas on TV right now. Take it from me, a guy who mostly watches TV all day and all night. Sure, there are other good shows at the moment, but if we’re going to talk about quality, The Americans will rise on top.
Unfortunately, the hit FX show doesn’t get the buzz that it deserves. Most of the people are talking about The Walking Dead, or the recently concluded first season of True Detective. The spy-thriller doesn’t have the popularity of Game of Thrones or the status of House of Cards but it should. Here are some reasons why I love this show, and why you should definitely watch it.
It Will Make You Root for the Enemy
Sure, there are a lot of anti-heroes on TV, but Philip and Elizabeth are special. Matthew Rhys’ and Elizabeth Russell’s characters are commie spies that have infiltrated America to live as a normal couple. Fans still root for them, why? Because we totally love the characters. Sure, they may want to destroy America of kill some FBI agents but we don’t care because we’re all invested.
The Actors are Great
It takes a certain skills for actors to play anti-hero roles. James Gandolfini had it, Bryan Cranston has it, and so does Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. BTW Russell totally kicks ass in the series. It’s like she totally wants you to forget that she was Felicity and just look at her kick some ass. Rhys, the Welshman who plays a Russian who plays an American is definitely highly capable of giving life to his character Philip. Plus, Noah Emmerich and Margo Martindale are also in the show, need I say more?
The Writing is Fantastic
Ever since Game of Thrones had their Red Wedding incident, every drama on TV wanted to have one too. The Americans can elicit the same shock value without killing major characters, that’s how good they are!
It’s a Good History Lesson
And the show is really based from reality. Former CIA agent Joe Weisberg created the show and based it from the Russian spy ring who were caught back in 2010. The plot lines are also based from history like Reagan’s assassination attempt, the Afghan War, and the Nicaraguan Contras.
Loved/Hated Homeland? Then you’ll Definitely Love The Americans
Not that The Americans was a rip-off of Homeland, it was just a better version of it. If you’re a fan of Homeland, I have to say, I used to watch too. But after the first season and few episodes of the 2nd season I stopped because it became suddenly bad. The Americans is consistently good, provides tension, and sheds light on the different aspects of being a spy like family, relationships, and livelihood, something Homeland tried to do but did not execute properly.
The Wigs
This show is infamous for its wigs and costumes. When the show runners decided that they wills set the show in the 80s, they never though they would have a challenge with dressing their characters. When they aired the program, they found out that the fans were actually having fun with all the fake hair and all the 80s fashion. The cast and crew took this to heart and their costumes are now perfection.
I always watch each episode at least twice, with a few days inbetween.