Keri and Matthew Rhys seen filming scenes on the sets of the TV series ‘The Americans’ in Astoria, Queens.
GALLERY LINKS:
– The Americans On the Set – February 19 2014
Sex has fueled spycraft since Delilah seduced Samson into spilling the source of his superstrength. But throw love into the mix and, well, things get murky. In Season 2 of FX’s smart and sexy Reagan-era thriller The Americans, married undercover KGB agents Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) Jennings find out just how dangerous such liaisons can be.
“There’s a deep change in their marriage,” explains show creator Joe Weisberg of the couple, who have posed as Virginia suburbanites since they landed stateside in their early twenties. “Elizabeth finally loves Philip as much as he does her. They started out with a fake marriage, and it’s starting to turn real. They’re like newlyweds who have two kids and more than 15 years together.”
Just don’t expect the pair to waltz off on a honeymoon anytime soon. When the show picks up after the events of last May’s finale, Elizabeth is recovering from the gunshot wound she received while on a retrieval mission. (Thin silver lining: The shooter, FBI agent Stan Beeman [Noah Emmerich] — who is also the Jennings’ neighbor — remains blissfully unaware of his target’s true identity.) And Philip’s current assignment yields its own major obstacle. He’s now “married” to another woman — FBI secretary Martha Hanson (Alison Wright) — who believes her new hubby is a federal Internal Affairs snoop named Clark. Not that Elizabeth has any room to grow resentful. This, after all, is a woman who spent much of the first season luring men into bed so she could blackmail them into turning over secrets. But “real feelings have crept in between Elizabeth and Philip,” Rhys admits, “so for the first time, they do have to negotiate jealousy.”
“This really happened historically,” explains Weisberg, who, as a former CIA officer, would know. “The KGB had their illegals [deep-cover agents] marry secretaries and proceed to gather intel. That’s about as sick and twisted a thing as I’ve heard in the world of intelligence, and Philip beginning another fake marriage with Martha fits beautifully into our story.”
Indeed, while the first season emphasized the cracks in the Jennings’ relationship, “this year,” says Rhys, “they’re a united front against external forces.” In addition to unsuspecting Hanson, that includes Beeman, whose own professional responsibilities may be derailed by an illicit relationship. The married fed is falling deeper into a passionate affair with Nina (Annet Mahendru), a gorgeous KGB operative he believes he’s turned. (She reports his every reveal to her Soviet overseer.)
But the most serious threat for the Jennings remains the Cold War itself, and as the conflict intensifies all over the globe, the couple’s missions become all the more treacherous. In the premiere, Philip poses as a Texas oilman eager to sell weapons to an Afghan rebel group bent on killing Soviet invaders. While that encounter doesn’t go particularly smoothly, a truly horrific event that follows shakes the family to the core. “What happens is a brutal reminder that they’re not immortal,” Rhys says. “And for the first time they realize their kids aren’t either. Philip hopes that Elizabeth will slowly change her mind about their job, because the more she invests in family, the more she’ll pull away from that other responsibility. And that’s Philip’s long game.”
The Americans returns Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 10/9c on FX.
Source: http://www.tvguide.com
Added scans from newest issue of Entertainment Weekly.
GALLERY LINKS:
– Magazine Scans Entertainment Weekly – February 21 2014
Just when Philip and Elizabeth think they have a quiet road ahead, an old friend returns to complicate things. Not only do they have to intercept a target who could prove valuable to the Soviet Union, but they also have to take on an important rogue mission without the support of the Centre. Divisions inside the Rezidentura deepen between Oleg and Arkady and there’s an upheaval at the FBI as the chickens come home to roost for Agent Gaad. Meanwhile, Martha’s frustrations threaten to blow Philip’s cover.
What’s the state of Phillip and Elizabeth’s marriage when The Americans returns? — June
Well, I may forgo watching the premiere with my parents since it features a scene that shows some pretty intense sexual wrestling between Phillip and Elizabeth. In other words, they’re doing OK. “They’re ready to be married,” executive producer Joel Fields tells me. “What they’re going to discover is having been fake-married for a long time, real marriage is not an easy thing. When you have two kids, there’s family to contend with. Add to that their work is life-and-death and the future of mankind hangs in the balance, there’s a little bit of pressure for them.”
Source: http://www.tvguide.com
Keri sports a short bob wig and glasses as she films scenes for ‘The Americans’ in New York.
GALLERY LINKS:
– The Americans On the Set – February 12 2014
Philip and Elizabeth complete their next mission – but not without complications – and Philip’s fears about Elizabeth’s readiness for action deepen. Stan tracks the KGB walk-in which leads to much praise at work and a deepening of his attachment to, and dependence on, Nina. Meanwhile, Paige snoops into her mother’s family background and Oleg begins to scrutinize Nina’s secret operation.
Thanks to my friend Claudia I have add scans from newest issue of Entertainment Weekly. I also added outtakes from this photoshoot to gallery.
GALLERY LINKS:
– Magazine Scans Entertainment Weekly – February 14 2014
– Photoshoots 2014 – Entertainment Weekly
It’s a cold, wintry December day in New York, and Keri Russell has a short break between filming scenes for The Americans. Though she’s now sitting in a heated van, there’s still a slight shiver in her voice as she explains what’s in store for Season 2 of the Cold War drama, which set network ratings records for FX during its Emmy-nominated debut last year. The Americans Season 2 begins Feb. 26.
“I think the main difference is last year when we started, Elizabeth wasn’t really even engaged in the marriage,” she says of her character. “It was questionable how much she was involved and wanted to be there, and I think this year she really wants to be in it. She’s trying to engage in that relationship in a really strong way that she hasn’t before. We start this year and continue as a team, less each one trying to jump ship and more how do we deal with all these obstacles as a married couple.”
Russell forever shattered images of Felicity (except for that hair, which we will always adore) with her hardened portrayal of Elizabeth, a Soviet spy sent to live deep undercover in the Washington, D.C., suburbs with Philip (Matthew Rhys), a fellow KGB operative. They go so far as to have a marriage and two children, who know nothing of their parents’ true identities. In addition to tempting fate each time they carry out missions from their bosses, Elizabeth and Philip have to deal with a new neighbor, Stan (Noah Emmerich), an FBI agent who is getting uncomfortably close to the truth. Continue reading Keri Russell talks about The Americans Season 2