Great news, comrades: FX has renewed “The Americans” – aka one of the very best shows in all of television – for a fourth season.
“Remarkably, this season of ‘The Americans’ has achieved even greater acclaim than that of its first two seasons,” FX original programming president Nick Grad said in announcing the order for a 13-episode fourth season, to air next year. “The series has cemented it status with critics as television”s best current drama and arguably the best show on TV, and we couldn”t agree more. That universal critical praise is a tribute to the talents of Joe, Joel, Keri, Matthew, Noah and the entire cast and crew. We look forward to the final four episodes of season three, and beyond, in Philip and Elizabeth Jennings’ riveting journey.”
FX boss John Landgraf has repeatedly put his support behind the Cold War spy drama, despite its meager ratings and complete shunning by the Emmys and showbiz guild awards. At the TV critics press tour in January, he said “I think it will be at least five” seasons for the series. This puts it within striking distance.
“The Americans” was my number two overall show for 2014. I don’t know where it’ll rank this year – 2015 has been absurdly strong so far – but I’ve liked season 3 even more than its predecessor. This is a great drama that I wish more people watched – even as I recognize that the subject matter can be off-putting (each week, the comments seem to pivot into a discussion of how hard it is for people to invest in the adventures of two Soviet agents) – and I’m relieved that it will get to stick around and presumably tell the full story that Fields and Weisberg have in mind.