KeriRussellWeb

The FX series is the best drama on television — not one of the best, the best — and the Golden Globes have given the Emmys a golden opportunity.
The Television Academy is about to have its hour of redemption.

I say this while admitting that my knee-jerk reaction is to follow that sentence with “although it may not be aware of that yet.” However, last year the Emmy voters took a huge step forward in both self-awareness and action, so I’m choosing to believe that the Television Academy is keenly aware of the position it now finds itself in at long last.

When nominations are announced in July, it is, positively, the moment when the Television Academy can snatch back its importance, reputation and relevance.

There are two things needed for the Emmys to matter again, and one of them is already in the books: The Golden Globes had to implode.

Or, if you prefer, the Golden Globes had to revert back to being the Golden Globes -— ridiculous, scattershot, influence-free and pointless (other than being a fine and fun party that can be entertaining when you point a camera at it).

After a number of years where the Golden Globes actively tried to out-influence the Emmys and calculatedly attacked the weakness of the Emmy voters (rubber-stamping the past, refusing to honor many channels or series and the actors in those series and steadfastly refusing to see what was both new and excellent in the rapidly expanding industry), the Globes flat-out gave up in 2016.

It was patently a capitulation to whimsy and popularity — a haphazard blast of underdog nominees and winners that were either asinine (Lady Gaga being nominated and actually winning) or frivolous (Mozart in the Jungle winning best comedy or musical), calculated for maximum feel-good buzz. And that’s exactly what the Globes should be doing — helping to save Crazy Ex-Girlfriend by giving the awesome Rachel Bloom the best actress award for comedy or musical; making damn sure Jon Hamm won for best actor for Mad Men; nominating Casual and Narcos and Outlander and Master of None’s Aziz Ansari; and all the things that viewers (and even critics) could feel good about, without actually having any gravitas or sense of hard-won justice.

That’s what the Emmys are for — take note, Television Academy. Continue reading Critic’s Notebook: How the Television Academy Can Save Itself By Nominating ‘The Americans’

“We get to be in a position of telling new stories rather than circling around to old ones,” says the FX drama’s showrunner Joel Fields.
[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the season four finale of The Americans.]

On the heels of a two-season renewal, The Americans wrapped another critically lauded season Wednesday night.

The FX drama’s fourth installment continued to prove that parenting can be just as difficult as espionage work by exploring how the lives of undercover Russian agents Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) become increasingly complicated by the decisions of their daughter, Paige (Holly Taylor).

“One of the moments I loved [in the finale] is when you have these parents that are staring at each other, one out of the window and one from down below,” said executive producer Joel Fields, who runs the spy drama with creator Joe Weisberg, of the episode’s final scene.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Fields ahead of the show’s final season-four outing to discuss the decision to end the drama after two more seasons, why the show said goodbye to three beloved characters this year and what’s next for the showrunning duo. Continue reading ‘The Americans’ Boss on Season 4 Finale, Killing Characters and the End

The season finale for The Americans starts with a stakeout of William’s apartment. The feds are on to him, and he has already stolen a vial of the Lassa virus, with plans to deliver it to Philip in a meet-up at a D.C. park.

Stan Beeman and his sidekick Aderholt are right behind him, along with a surveillance chopper and countless fellow agents on the ground. He’s surrounded. And Philip is walking into a trap.

From there we cut to Paige, reading a Spanish textbook in her bedroom. Elizabeth comes in and crawls into bed with her. Paige asks, “If we’re in danger … If things can happen … Maybe I need to learn how to defend myself.”

She’s thinking about the assailant she watched her mother kill in a dark parking lot.

“I can teach you a few things,” Elizabeth says.
Continue reading The Americans finale recap: ‘Persona Non Grata’