The creator of The Americans doesn’t feel good about its political parallels, either
Once upon a time, FX’s The Americans was just a fun, pulpy period piece, a throwback to an era in which the Russian and U.S. governments were constantly working to undermine each other with underhanded tactics and clandestine ways. But the popular spy show has taken on a rather contemporary feeling in recent weeks—thanks to ongoing reports that the Russian government worked to influence the 2016 presidential election—a transition to relevance that the show’s creators have noted with a mixture of interest and dismay.
“There is something, in a twisted way, kind of fun in seeing all the headlines about stuff we’re trafficking in,” creator Joe Weisberg told reporters at the show’s panel at the TCAs today. Weisberg—a former member of the CIA—reminded viewers that one of the major goals of the series was to show that Russian spies were people, too. “That was in a more peaceful time,” though, Weisberg noted. “To see things spiral so out of control just doesn’t feel good.”
Meanwhile, the show’s stars had more on their minds than its slow transformation into non-fiction, with journalists peppering them with questions about the show’s recently announced conclusion two seasons from now. “Come on! We have another year left!” Keri Russell protested, before turning to co-star Matthew Rhys. “Is someone dying that we don’t know about?”