Category Articles & Interviews

When The Americans stars Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell arrived for Deadline’s shoot at a quaint upstate NY inn near where they were on holiday, they brought the latest member of their entourage. That would be Sam, a two-month-old who seems right out of central casting for cutest baby ever. In a fourth season of the Reagan era Cold War FX spy drama series that featured a dizzying amount of surprises on screen, the pending stork visit for Rhys and Russell’s first child together was one of two plot twists that surprised showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, who had to accelerate shooting to get the season in before Russell was due, hiding a pregnancy that was not worked into the plot line.

The other surprise was that, after three seasons as a critical darling and a guilty pleasure, The Americans finally got love from the Television Academy, and reached that critical consensus that occasionally catapults an established show like Friday Night Lights. The Americans is up for five major Emmy Awards including Outstanding Drama Series, one each for Rhys and Russell as lead actors, one for Outstanding Writing for Weisberg and Fields, and another for Margo Martindale, who last year won the show’s only Emmy in the Guest Actress category. Continue reading Keri Russell & Matthew Rhys On ‘The Americans’ Emmy-Nominated 4th Season

“The Americans” showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields took a well-deserved victory lap at the Television Critics Association press tour on Tuesday, on the heels of the FX drama nabbing breakthrough Emmy noms for drama series and acting bids for stars Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell.

Weisberg and Fields addressed the process of mapping out the show’s final two seasons during the Q&A at the Beverly Hilton. The spoiler-conscious showrunners didn’t give up much in terms of plot points for season five and six. But a few things could be deduced from the pair’s cautious comments.

Here are 10 things we learned from “The Americans” panel:

– Martha lives! Alison Wright’s Martha Hanson character was shipped off to the Soviet Union at the end of last season after she learned the truth of her sham marriage to Rhys’ Clark alter ego. Weisberg and Fields wouldn’t confirm whether she will be seen again in the upcoming seasons but she’s definitely still kicking in the Motherland. “Martha’s not dead. She made it there,” Fields said.
– Season five will consist of 13 episodes. The final season will be 10 episodes, to keep the storytelling taut, Weisberg said.
– During the first season, Weisberg and Fields were very worried about whether the show could pull off extended scenes in the Soviet embassy with characters speaking entirely in Russian. “It’s crazy when we think back to the first season how risky it seemed to do those scenes in Russian,” Fields said.
– Margo Martindale and Frank Langella will be back next season in their roles as Soviet spy handlers for Rhys and Russell’s Philip and Elizabeth Jennings. Martindale’s Claudia will have a “bigger story” next year, Weisberg said.
– The seed planted at the end of season four that Philip’s adult son Mischa from a previous relationship is about to crash the Jennings’ world in the U.S. was a “late realization” for the writing team. “When we last saw (Mischa) it was ambiguous if that character even really existed,” Weisberg said.
– Weisberg and Fields’ vision for how the series would end didn’t take shape until the break between season one and season two. “We had to figure out what the show was first,” Fields said. In the beginning, the primary goal was clear: “Don’t get canceled,” Weisberg said.
– As tense as things were between Philip and Elizabeth and their teenage daughter Paige (played by Holly Taylor) at the end of season four, just wait. “The stuff that’s been percolating and brewing with the Paige recruitment and them struggling in this incredible triangle is really going to finally come to a boil,” Weisberg said.
– When oh when will Noah Emmerich’s rock-ribbed FBI guy Stan Beeman finally realize that the Ruskie spies he seeks are right across the street? “The suspicions that have been percolating between the Jennings and their across-the-street neighbor are going to get more suspicious but in surprising ways,” Fields said.
– Of all the wigs and disguises the producers have thrust upon Russell and Rhys, the only one that Russell has rejected is a wig that is way too close to her “Felicity” persona from the WB Network days. Everybody else in the “Americans” company has put it on for a picture. But not Russell, Fields said.
– Weisberg was particularly nervous about whether the nine-month time jump that the show took in season four would work. “Joe’s first words after seeing the director’s cut was ‘Oh my god, it worked,’ ” Fields said. Weisberg gave a lot of credit to a discreet hairstyling choice. “It was such a subtle, simple thing — we tied Paige’s hair back into a ponytail and that gave her a sterner look. It was the littlest thing but it did so much to make it work,” he said.

Source: http://variety.com/

What do you like best about your character?
“The show does a really good job of reversing the typical roles of males and females, and I think it’s a very complicated, in-depth look at a messy, real relationship. What appealed to me in the beginning is that the female was a little less invested in the relationship. That’s such an interesting take because it’s always the woman who is pining after this guy who is cheating on her. And it wasn’t that. She’s like, ‘No, this is our job, and I’m in love with someone else, and that’s what I get from that.’ And [Matthew Rhys’ character, Philip] was the one who was really sweet and sensitive. But then where we ended the fourth season — and I love that it took four seasons for her to finally have emotions — there was so much jealousy for that character and so much pain in him having true feelings, or whatever it was that he had, for the Martha character. That is such a great arc for a character to get to play that.”

Most helpful thing for getting into character
“One of the most enjoyable parts is the trying on of the wigs and 1980s glasses that we do in the hair and makeup trailers. Almost all of them are really bad, and we just sit and laugh with each other and tell each other how bad we look.”

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com

The Americans is no longer a critical hit in hiding.

After three years of Emmy snubs, the spy drama rebounded this year with nominations for best drama series and lead actors Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.

Russell and Rhys, a couple in real life who welcomed a son in May, were “in shock,” says Russell. “We were like, we’ve not been nominated so many times we were so sure we’d never be nominated! But maybe because it’s the fourth season (of the show) there’s so much less pressure. It just feels very fun.”

But there could be consequences. “I know,” she laughs. “We’re like, ‘Oh, no!’ Now no one’s going to like our show now. The underdog position is the place to be.”

Her summer maternity leave is full of little sleep and “fireflies.” The actress, who has two children with her ex, Shane Deary, says she and Rhys will return to shoot the fifth season in New York this October (A sixth in 2018 will wrap up the series). “It wasn’t exactly planned that way, but it did all work out pretty well,” she says of the baby’s timing. “It’s been a pretty fun summer of nature and kids and not a lot of sleep.”

And just like the rest of us, she’s trying to cobble clues about next season. “Before I left for the summer we got tipped off about one certain thing,” she says. “And I was like, ‘Guys, if I need to learn Russian, just tell me now. If we’re going to be doing heavy-duty Russian, I want to be learning it over the summer, not like a week before I have to perform it.”

Source: http://www.usatoday.com

n its fourth season, FX’s 1980s Soviet spy period drama The Americans has finally broken through with Television Academy members and earned some top-notch Emmy nominations including drama series, lead actress for Keri Russell and lead actor for Matthew Rhys.

Since its first season, The Americans, which follows Soviet spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Rhys and Russell0, a married couple posing as an American suburban one at the height of the Cold War, was a critical darling. However, when it came to Emmy season, the series was continually overlooked in the above the line categories. In the wake of AMC’s Mad Men, which would consistently earn acting nominations and strike out in wins (except for Jon Hamm’s lead actor drama win last year), Americans was another example of a period series that was challenged when it came to Emmys.

The news today came as a huge surprise to both Russell and Americans EPs Joseph Weisberg and Joel Fields. Commenting on why this year was finally the year for the show, Russell beamed, “In all my years of wearing winter coats, I have no idea why. Our show is a slow burn for a lot of people.”

“It feels like we’re the bad kids who got invited to the party,” quipped the actress who counts her first Emmy nom after scoring a Golden Globe in 1999 for Felicity. For Rhys, Fields and Weisberg, it’s their first time too. Continue reading ‘The Americans’ Tears Down Emmy Wall With Key Noms For Cold War Spy Drama

“I thought I very likely misheard it,” said creator Joe Weisberg of his disbelief when he heard the FX drama called out during the nominations ceremony.
After four seasons on the air, FX’s critically acclaimed espionage drama The Americans finally got some recognition from the TV Academy.

The drama nabbed a total of five Emmy nominations on Thursday morning, which is the same as the total number of noms the show had racked up over its past three eligible years. Not only did the series get a nod for best drama this year — lead actors Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys received nominations in their respective acting categories, a first for both of the veteran television actors.

Showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields hopped on the phone with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about how they found out the big news, who their first call was and why they think this is the year that the espionage drama finally got some awards love. Continue reading ‘The Americans’ Showrunners on Emmy Nominations: “I Didn’t Believe It”

With Emmy season in full swing, the Television Critics Association has announced the roster of nominees for its 32nd annual awards ceremony, boosting HBO and FX to the top of the pack with 12 and 11 overall nominations, respectively.

The 32nd TCA Awards ceremony will be held Aug. 6 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Jane the Virgin’s Jaime Camil is set to host the event.

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

Bryan Cranston, “All The Way,” HBO
Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot,” USA
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul,” AMC
Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” FX
Keri Russell, “The Americans,” FX
Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” FX

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

“The Americans,” FX – (2015 Winner in Category)
“Better Call Saul,” AMC
“Game of Thrones,” HBO
“The Leftovers,” HBO
“Mr. Robot,” USA
“UnREAL,” Lifetime

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

“The Americans,” FX
“Fargo,” FX
“Game of Thrones,” HBO
“Making a Murderer,” Netflix
“Mr. Robot,” USA
“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” FX
“UnREAL,” Lifetime

Source: http://www.ew.com

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’