Look, I get it. You don’t want to watch yet another bleak, low-rated drama filled with death, paranoia, and questions about what it all means, not when The Bachelor is on. But The Americans isn’t just any bleak drama — it’s arguably the best show on TV. And it’s back on FX tonight! If you’re a fan, you’ve had today circled on your Yakov Smirnoff calendar for months. If you’ve never seen an episode, you should catch up immediately. And if you watched an episode and thought it wasn’t your thing, maybe this will help.
Some evil genius on YouTube put together a mashup of The Americans and “The Best of Both Worlds,” Miley Cyrus’ stupidly infectious 2006 single that doubled as Hannah Montana‘s theme song. “American dream or Soviet Nightmare?” the uploader asks in the description. “It’s the Best (and Worst) of both worlds for Paige Jennings.” Forget #PoorMartha or #PoorStan — it’s poor Paige we should be worried about. She knows Elizabeth and Phillip’s secret, unlike her dopey brother Bobby Draper, er, Henry, and has to deal with her parents being KGB agents… or else. She’s living the worst of both worlds, which is makes the turn the video takes midway through so good.
You know what else is good? The Americans. You should check it out. Thank you for your time.
