The Americans is returning slightly later than its usual end of January/early February slot, but they are still doing the preview rounds including an Entertainment Weekly first look and now this discussion with Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys from Variety’s “Contenders” series (if only the people who voted for these awards would realize that).
I should imagine they will also be part of the FX TCA panel line-up this weekend, where they may or may not confirm IRL spy baby news and how it may or may not impact the storyline this season. One thing that is clear is that family will once again be the focus and that this central relationship is what drives The Americans overall with the spy shenanigans as the dangerous backdrop. It is something Russell has discussed before, but it is worth repeating that this type of role is a gift for an actress in a sea of girlfriend/wife roles which have very little substance to them (Russell’s role in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is indicative of this). She goes on to say:
“Being a woman and just the type of parts that are available right now, to me it is such a great job because it’s kind of the best way to explore a marriage or personal relationship dynamics because it’s not like Thirtysomething or you know a show that’s just basically talking about marriage. All the jealousy, all the danger, all of those elements and trust that you would be exploring in a regular marriage show are there, but they’re so heightened.”
Disguise wise the hair and shoulder pads are going to get bigger and there’s promise of teal glitter eyeliner – which sounds pretty ideal for 2016 tbh. In terms of this being an 80s show Matthew Rhys points out how the showrunners have been “shrewd enough to not want the 80s be the other character” as it is a decade which can pull the viewer out of the story because of how ridiculous everything looks. Although they do point out that there is one actor – Keidrich Sellati, who plays Henry Jennings – who is constantly astounded by the tech of the time.
Other disguise aspects to look out for in the future include oversized teeth, which have yet to make an appearance so far as dialogue heavy scenes make it impossible to talk properly while wearing them. They also both point out how helpful the physical aspect of the costuming is when informing how they play these parts. And it is definitely something that is very fun to write about.
Watch the interview below and stay tuned for more Americans season 4 news.
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