Critic Reviews

All of the elements that made it must-see last year are working at full throttle in season two, which kicks off Wednesday night: intrigue, deception, sex, duplicity, spy vs. spy stuff and, most of all, irony.

[It] promises to be a dizzyingly clever season 2. [3 Mar 2014, p.39]

Season 2 finds ways to introduce even greater tension, even as [Philip and Elizabeth are] a more fundamentally sound unit, while also adding a whodunnit element that spices things up nicely.... Absolutely dynamite.

Based on these first five episodes, The Americans shows every sign of maintaining if not exceeding the high bar it set in Season 1.

Unlike in "Homeland," the show's main conceit grows even more complex and fascinating by including the Jennings kids.

Sometimes watching greatness expand and realizing that a foundation is in place for the future (excellent writing, superb acting, a clear conceptual vision) is just the kind of assurance you need to cement your allegiance.

The juxtaposition of domestic banality with covert, often erotic peril has never been more unsettling. [19 Jan-1 Feb 2015, p.14]

The Americans is only getting better with age, answering its questions as it builds upon them--even if the solutions don't come easy.

The first four episodes of Season 3 of The Americans, which returns Wednesday night on FX, are just as absorbing and dark and impeccably realized as what we saw in Season 2.

Meticulous detail makes the difference between competent television shows and instant classics, and The Americans teems with period minutia, and treats it with a solemn respect not often paid to the ’80s.