The Americans

The Americans (2013) 

An excellent series that unfortunately hasn’t reached a wider audience in our country. It's exactly as one foreign review says: "easy to admire, but hard to love." To admire because of the flawless craftsmanship, the detailed period setting (the 1980s) and the precise actors, from the smallest supporting roles to the leading ones. And it's hard to love because the leading duo are like fellow TV serial killer Dexter, who, as with the two protagonists playing Soviet KGB spies, we know that what they are doing is not exactly kosher (and sometimes beyond what we would expect from our favourite lead characters), but we still root for them in a way. We form an ambivalent relationship with them – on the one hand, as dedicated KGB spies, they irritate us because they undermine the foundations of a society that has opened its arms to them; on the other hand, we like them because they are not brainwashed, they have a point of view and they are likeable (Kerri Russell and Matthew Rhys are my new acting revelations). The casting overall is the trump card of the series. I especially enjoy the well-known secondary role actor Noah Emmerich as a CIA agent who exudes respect, some of his monologues give me chills, and the unknown Alison Wright as the manipulative, naive Martha is also excellent. The script is entirely unpredictable, winding its way forward in unexpected paths, so nothing for lobotomized viewers who are addicted to the standard mindless TV entertainment that you can watch while doing the ironing. Perhaps I would have liked a sharper climax in the last part of the 1st season, given what it had promised all along, and also the pilot doesn't lure enough and someone might be forced into the second episode. But give it a chance, really. Anyway, I’m looking forward to the second season, which is supposed to be even better. (23/09/2014)