Why ‘The Americans’ Will Stand With ‘The Wire’ & ‘Breaking Bad’ As One Of The Best TV Dramas Ever

But “The Americans” is without a doubt worth it. Not just because it’s one of the best pieces of spy fiction ever, but because it’s one of the best TV dramas about marriage (and parenting) ever. On the whole, that subject is examined on the small screen in comedy more than it is in drama, and rarely with the nuance and insight that Weisberg and his team do here. The show tackles other big issues — double lives, religion and faith, capitalism, idealism — but in the end, everything comes down to the relationship between Philip and Elizabeth.

It’s an odd sort of love story in TV terms, showing how this couple become more strongly bonded and more deeply in love a dozen years into their marriage. Shows tend to focus more on a will-they-won’t-they over they-already-did, but “The Americans” somehow makes it legitimately sexy (despite, or maybe because of, basic cable rules on nudity that mean they have to be much less explicit than some of their prestige drama competition), and full of quiet, almost mundane drama that nevertheless feels as big as the fate of a biological weapon or the hunt for a mole.

What it gets so right is that sense of the day-to-day reality of being married (or a similar long-term relationship), the work that goes into making it last, the way that attraction to each other can wax and wane, how you can form bonds with other people while still feeling at home with your partner,  and the difficulties of raising a child when your beliefs and wants for your offspring, might not necessarily line up with your partner’s.

And the show’s greatest genius is in how almost every single relationship in the show informs that central one, from the pair’s handlers, played by Margo Martindale (winner of the show’s only Emmy so far) and Frank Langella, essentially serving as surrogate grandparents in the central family unit to Phillip’s other wife, an FBI source (played by the incomparably brilliant Alison Wright) who he has a complicated second life with.

It adds up to a show that’s a truly domestic drama, oftentimes feeling more like Arthur Miller than “Homeland” (like “Mad Men,” it’s a show whose principal reference points are literary rather than cinematic in many ways). Despite the quality of the writing and the filmmaking, it would likely struggle without a cast of this calibre, and while everyone does strong work, it’s Russell and Rhys who are revelatory. Neither were particularly on our radars when the show began — Russell seemed perfectly charming but not really a heavyweight, Rhys more or less indistinguishable from Andrew Lincoln or similar Brit-export actors.

But here, it’s hard to imagine them in any other role, the ghost of “Felicity” and “Brothers & Sisters” long since banished. Rhys brings a level of versatility and warmth that few who’d seen his work before this could have come to expect (though if you don’t watch the show, his recent appearance on “Girls” gives a nice taste of the kind of greatness he’s been doing), while Russell is arguably even better, the tougher, chillier half of the partnership who’s nevertheless capable of great compassion, regret and moral confusion. From day one, they’ve simply felt like a real couple (and actually became one in the process of making the show, which surely helps).

They recently received their first Emmy nominations for the show for Season 4, which also marked the first time that the show was nominated for the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy. That’s in part what’s adding up to the sense that the show is finally having its moment in the sun (indeed, with defending champion “Game Of Thrones” not eligible for Emmys this year, there’s a very real chance that “The Americans” could pick up the prize). But that’s not the only reason.

Since the show went into production for Season 5, the idea of Russian infiltration and interference in the U.S has become topical again in a major way. While it’s not for the first time since the Cold War — indeed, Weisberg was inspired to create the show by the revelation of the so-called Illegals Program in 2010 — allegations that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team were in contact with Russia during the course of the race continues to dominate headlines, and looks certain to remain there for some time to come. It’s led to some pretty hilarious tweets, and some carefully-placed advertising from FX, cannily juxtaposing the show with the headlines.

https://twitter.com/jonmladd/status/831901743948644353

https://twitter.com/claytonpurdom/status/837666234959286272

Those expecting the show to skewer the Trump will go away disappointed: it’s never been an explicitly political show, and it would likely feel wildly incongruous if they tried. “The initial idea of the show was really to say, ‘Hey look, these people who we think of as enemies are just like us,’ ” Weisberg told THR at the TCAs in January. “That was at a more peaceful time in U.S.-Russia relations, and to see things have spiraled so out of control, frankly, just doesn’t feel so good,” though he also added, “all the operations [Russia is] being accused of running are operations we’ve been running on this show.”

But it does at least feel like a vindication of the bold, subversive nature of the premise, even if the show’s makers wouldn’t claim they were being especially prescient. And if encourages more people to check it out, then even better. However accidental the similarities have proven to be, it only helps to build the feeling that, once the dust settles, even among the wealth of competition, “The Americans” will be seen as one of the defining TV dramas of our time.

You can catch up on the first four seasons on Amazon Prime, and Season 5 begins tonight on FX.