Look, at this point, I probably don't have to tell you that The Americans is the best show currently on TV (and the field is suitably stacked, with the likes of Fargo, Atlanta, American Crime Story, The Leftovers, Game Of Thrones, Rectify, Transparent, Veep, and BoJack Horseman all in the conversation). EVERYONE KNOWS IT!!! At the very least, you hopefully already know it was Gothamist's favorite drama of 2015 and 2016.
In case you haven't had time to pick it up yet, the bare bones are this: the show takes place in Washington, D.C. in the 1980s and concerns the secret Russian Illegals Program. There are amazingly bad wigs, triple agents, period-appropriate soundtrack cues, and complicated spy shenanigans, but this is no goofy nostalgia trip: it brilliantly uses its Cold War backdrop and suspenseful action sequences as a jumping-off point to deeply explore the struggles and complications of love, identity, marriage, patriotism, and parenting.
It has become the spiritual successor to the Breaking Bad throne (the most thrilling show on TV, one that has gotten better and tenser every season), with long-simmering plotlines coming to a boil more and more frequently in heart-stopping and heartbreaking ways. And it has added immediate resonance now that Putin has become a special adviser to the president.
Below, you can watch the first trailers for season five, which will air on March 7th on FX. You have exactly one month before the premiere of the penultimate season. You won't be disappointed.
