Sign up
Trailer+2 trailers

The Americans

2013 – 2018Show6 seasons75 episodesTV-MA

CrimeDrama
89
ExcellentGoodWatch score
IMDb8.4Metacritic898.6Rotten Tomatoes96%94%

A nerve-racking, slow-burning crime series about history and family, with standout performances and characters.

Good for date night · friends night · binge-friendly

Skip it if you need an uplifting mood · you want fast pacing · you want to half-watch while scrolling

Where to watch

Set your services
What's new on Hulu

Fingerprint

Not for warmth, laughs or comfort.

Shows with

Episodes

6 seasons · 75 episodes · best: S6E10 "START" 9.7

Episodes

8.2
8.1
8.3
8.4
7.9
9.0

Story

All's fair in love and cold war.

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.

Feels like

  • Cold War Espionage Drama
  • Psychological Character Study
  • Moral Ambiguity
  • Family Under Siege
  • Period-Accurate Atmosphere
  • Slow-Burn Tension
  • Ideological Conflict
  • Tragic Heroism
  • Subtle Performance Masterclass
  • Historical Realism

Cast

24 of 356 · most episodes first

Crew

Directors
Chris Long, Daniel Sackheim, Thomas Schlamme
Written by
Melissa James Gibson, Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields
Produced by
David Woods, Mary Rae Thewlis, Mitch Engel
Music by
Nathan Barr

Everyone

Pick a department, or search for a name or a job (“editor”, “stunt”).

Facts

January 30, 2013 · May 30, 2018 · Ended

First aired
January 30, 2013
Last aired
May 30, 2018
Status
Ended
Length
6 seasons · 75 episodes
Age rating
TV-MA
Content
Violence, Strong Language, Sexual Content, Disturbing Imagery
Genres
Crime, Drama
Original language
English
Also spoken
Russian
Made in
United States
Available in
78 countries

Tropes

FBI Agent, Blatant Lies, Bondage Is Bad +9

  • FBI Agent
  • Blatant Lies
  • Bondage Is Bad
  • Black-and-Gray Morality
  • Truth in Television
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown
  • Mad Bomber
  • Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow
  • Hollywood Atheist
  • Dirty Communists
  • Cycle of Revenge
  • Ambiguously Evil

12 of 265 tropes. From TV Tropes.

Q&A

6 questions, like "Where can I stream The Americans?"

Questions about The Americans

Quick answers from GoodWatch data.

Where can I stream The Americans?

Hulu

In the United States, The Americans streams on Hulu. You can rent or buy it from Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, and Fandango At Home. It also streams in 75 other countries.

Is The Americans worth watching?

89
ExcellentGoodWatch score

Yes, it's widely acclaimed, with a GoodWatch score of 89 (IMDb 8.4, Rotten Tomatoes 96%, and Metacritic 89).

Which season of The Americans is best?

Season 6, with an IMDb average of 9.0. Season 5 is the weakest at 7.9. The highest-rated episode is START (season 6, episode 10) at 9.7, and the lowest is Immersion (season 5, episode 8) at 7.5.

Will I feel good after watching The Americans?

BleakHopeful

Probably not: the title analysis rates it 8 of 10 for bleakness and 7 for melancholy, against 3 for hopefulness.

Is The Americans plot-driven or character-driven?

CharactersPlot

Mostly character-driven: it leans on character depth (10 of 10) and pathos (8 of 10) more than on its plot.

What tropes does The Americans use?

FBI AgentBlatant LiesBondage Is BadBlack-and-Gray MoralityTruth in TelevisionNo-Holds-Barred BeatdownMad BomberMighty Whitey and Mellow YellowHollywood AtheistDirty CommunistsCycle of RevengeAmbiguously Eviland 253 more

TV Tropes lists 265 tropes for it, including FBI Agent, Blatant Lies, and Bondage Is Bad.