The Americans

The Americans (2013) 

The American spy series The Americans looks at the Cold War from an unusual perspective. The main characters are KGB agents operating under hidden identities in America, and their adversaries are FBI agents trying to expose the Russian spies. The series doesn't portray the main characters in black and white as heroes or villains, but purely as agents with conflicting interests who are loyal to their country and follow the orders of their superiors, even if they don't always agree with them. The tense relations between the two sides can easily escalate, and the main tension comes from the fact that all agents must act with great caution at all times. There are no Bond-like psychopaths out to destroy the world. None of the agents want a third world war, and both sides are concerned with maintaining the balance of power. The series is more grounded than, for example, another current series about spies, Homeland. In fact, one of its creators is a former CIA agent (Joseph Weisberg), and instead of tense action scenes, it focuses mainly on the normal routine of spies (recruiting agents, leading them, and the relationships between them). The series can also be seen as an unconventional marital drama. In fact, the main characters, two Russian agents, marry into a typical American family with two children living in a typical American suburb. So, in addition to carrying out their espionage missions, they also try to raise their children, maintain their secret identities, and not lose their Soviet discipline. In doing so, the series avoids any pathos, and rawly evokes the stuffy and cold atmosphere of the Cold War. The make-up artists, who constantly invent new disguises for the main characters (complete with fake hair and moustaches), certainly deserve an award. (02/07/2014)