Keri Russell, the star of FX’s award-winning series The Americans, gives her take on whether she would return for a possible revival. The cold-war drama ran on FX for six seasons from 2013 to 2018 and received critical acclaim throughout its run. It also won multiple accolades throughout its run including a Golden Globe award for Best Series – Drama and an Emmy Award for Best Actor for Matthew Rhys. The series also featured a talented supporting cast including the likes of Noah Emmerich, Julia Garner (Ozark), Margo Martindale, Frank Langella, and Holly Taylor, to name a few.
The story of The Americans takes place during the 1980s at the height of the Cold War and revolves around two Soviet KGB spies, Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings (played by Russell and Rhys, respectively), who pose as an American married couple living with their children, Paige and Henry, in a suburb of Washington D.C. called Falls Church. The series follows the couple as they run missions for their organization, all the while having the FBI, led by counterintelligence agent, Stan Beeman, (Emmerich) on their tail.
Russell sat down with Comicbook to discuss her latest supernatural horror film, Antlers, and expressed her feelings on a possible return to one of her acclaimed roles in The Americans. She stated that she “wouldn’t want to mess with that” as it was “such a good ending.” However, she did mention that she’d be open to it if the focus was on the children, to maybe see some form of a “subversive payback” from their perspective. Read her full quote below:
“I don’t know that you can beat that ending. That was a good ending, I don’t know if you can beat that. I wouldn’t want to mess with that. That was so wrong what happened, but so right. That’s my only… I mean, it would be [interesting] maybe to see what the kids do and they could do something, like a subversive payback somehow, but I don’t know, it was such a good ending. I don’t think I would mess with that one.”
The series ended in thrilling yet heart-rending fashion as Elizabeth and Phillip successfully evaded the FBI and returned to their homeland in Moscow only for their children to be left behind in America. The final scene ended with a mixed sense of uncertainty and hope for the couple to see their children again. Russell described the ending as “so wrong, but so right,” which rings true because of the right balance it captures when it comes to what the characters ultimately deserved. The episode struck a chord with many viewers and cemented the legacy of The Americans as one of the best TV series of its era.
It would be interesting to see if FX does move forward with a revival or spin-off in some form or another, with the idea of focusing on Paige and Henry Jennings being an enticing one. However, with the end of the series coinciding with the latter stages of the Cold War in the story, it’d be difficult to find a strong enough purpose for the characters to go forward. Moreover, with the ending being as perfect as it was, fans haven’t exactly been clamoring for more. Nevertheless, if there is eventually a possibility of a revival in the future with the inclusion of the two main stars and the creator/writer of The Americans, Joe Weisberg, it could turn some heads and generate some interest among fans of the show.
Source: Comicbook
