The third season of the American

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

series ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX (TV channel), FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg ...

'', consisting of 13 episodes, premiered on FX on January 28, 2015, and concluded on April 22, 2015. The series was renewed for the third season on April 16, 2014. The events of the third season begin in late 1982 and end on March 8, 1983, the night of Ronald Reagan's

Evil Empire speech The "Evil Empire" speech was a speech delivered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to the National Association of Evangelicals on March 8, 1983 during the Cold War. In that speech, Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an "evil empire" and as "th ...

Cast

Main

Keri Russell Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She portrayed the titular character on the drama series ''Felicity (TV series), Felicity'' (1998–2002), which won her a Golden Globe Award, and Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans), ...

as Elizabeth Jennings (Nadezhda), a

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

officer *

Matthew Rhys Matthew Rhys Evans ( ; born 8 November 1974) is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Kevin Walker in '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in ''The Americans'' (2013–2018), for which he received two Golden Globe Awar ...

as Philip Jennings (Mischa), a KGB officer *

Lev Gorn Lev Gorn (russian: Лев Горенс; born 1971 in Stavropol) is a Russian-born American stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for his role as KGB officer Arkady Ivanovich Zotov in ''The Americans''. Later, he had a recurring rol ...

as Arkady Ivanovich Zotov, the KGB's

Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceutic ...

Annet Mahendru Anita Devi "Annet" Mahendru (born November 5, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for playing Nina Sergeevna Krilova on the FX period drama series ''The Americans'' (2013–2016), for which she garnered a nomination for the Critics' Ch ...

as Nina Sergeevna Krilova, Beeman's Soviet mole *

Susan Misner Susan Misner (; born February 8, 1971) is an American actress and dancer. She has appeared in a number of TV series as a guest star, as well as several recurring roles. Career Misner portrayed Grace Davidson on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to ...

as Sandra Beeman, Stan's wife *

Costa Ronin Konstantin "Costa" Ronin (born 3 February 1979) is an Australian actor and cinematographer, best known for appearances in '' Red Dog'', as Gregorovich on the SBS drama ''East West 101'', as Oleg Igorevich Burov in the FX drama ''The Americans'' ...

as Oleg Igorevich Burov, a KGB officer *

Keidrich Sellati Keidrich Sellati (born ) is an American actor. He played the role of Henry Jennings in the FX television series ''The Americans'' (2013–2018) for its entire run. Life and career Sellati has been described as having Korean, Irish, Italian, a ...

as Henry Jennings, Elizabeth and Philip's son *

Holly Taylor Holly Taylor is a Canadian and American actress and dancer. She began her career in the Broadway production of ''Billy Elliot'' at the age of eleven as Sharon Percy (Ballet Girl) and continued in the role for almost two years. She played the ro ...

Paige Jennings Elizabeth Jennings (real name Nadezhda; rus, Надежда) is a fictional character in the American television drama series ''The Americans'' on FX, as the female lead. Her character was conceived by showrunner Joe Weisberg and is portrayed by ...

, Elizabeth and Philip's daughter * Richard Thomas as Frank Gaad, special agent in charge of the

FBI Counterintelligence Division The Counterintelligence Division (CD) is a division of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The division protects the United States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage. It accomplishes its miss ...

Alison Wright Alison Wright (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. She is best known for her starring role as Martha Hanson on the FX period spy drama series ''The Americans'' (2013–2017), for which she received critical acclaim and earned a Primet ...

as Martha Hanson, Gaad's secretary and Philip's informant *

Noah Emmerich Noah Nicholas Emmerich (born February 27, 1965) is an American actor and director who is best known for his roles in films such as '' Beautiful Girls'' (1996), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Frequency'' (2000), ''Miracle'' (2004), '' Little Childr ...

Stan Beeman Stan Beeman is a fictional character in the American television drama series ''The Americans'' on FX, and the supporting male character. He was created by series creator Joe Weisberg and is portrayed by Noah Emmerich. Stan is an FBI agent and a n ...

, an FBI agent

Recurring

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flori ...

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

, one of Philip and Elizabeth's KGB handlers *

Brandon J. Dirden Brandon J. Dirden (born 1978) is an American actor, best known for portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in the Broadway production of Robert Schenkkan's ''All the Way''. Career A Morehouse College and University of Illinois graduate, Dirden made h ...

as Dennis Aderholt, an FBI agent * Vera Cherny as Tatiana Evgenyevna Vyazemtseva, a KGB officer working at the Rezidentura *

Peter Mark Kendall Peter Mark Kendall (born May 11, 1986) is an American actor with a career in stage, film and television. He is known for playing the role of Hans in FX's ''The Americans'' and Richard Onsted in CBS '' Strange Angel''. Education Kendall received a ...

as Hans, a South African graduate student and KGB informant being trained by Elizabeth * Svetlana Efremova as Zinaida Preobrazhenskaya, a defector from the

Institute for US and Canadian Studies Institute for US and Canadian Studies (Russian: Институт США и Канады РАН, ''Institut SShA i Kanadi RAN'') is a Russian think tank which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, specializing on the comprehensive studies of ...

Karen Pittman } Karen Pittman is an American actress. Born in Mississippi and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Pittman received a Bachelor of Arts in Voice and Opera at Northwestern University and a Masters of Fine Arts from NYU's Graduate Acting Program. Pittma ...

as Lisa, a Northrop employee from whom Elizabeth is gleaning information *

Kelly AuCoin Kelly AuCoin (born February 14, 1967) is an American actor who has appeared in film, television, and theater. He is best known as "Dollar" Bill Stern on '' Billions'' (Showtime), and Pastor Tim on ''The Americans'' ( FX). He has had recurring rol ...

as Pastor Tim, the head of a church Paige Jennings attends *

Julia Garner Julia Garner (born February 1, 1994) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Ruth Langmore in the Netflix crime drama series ''Ozark'' (2017–2022), for which she received critical acclaim and won three Primetime Emm ...

as Kimberly Breland, the daughter of the head of the CIA's Afghan group *

Rahul Khanna Rahul Khanna (born 20 June 1972) is an Indian actor, VJ and writer who works in Bollywood. He is the older son of actor turned politician Vinod Khanna and the older brother of Akshaye Khanna. Early life and background Khanna was born and rai ...

as Yousaf Rana, an officer in the Pakistani

ISI ISI or Isi may refer to: Organizations * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students * Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks * Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...

Covert Action Division *

Michael Aronov Michael Aronov (born May 4, 1976) is an American actor who has worked in film, television and theatre. In 2017, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Uri Savir in the Broadway theatre, Broadway play ''Oslo (play), ...

as Anton Baklanov, a scientist involved in

stealth technology Stealth technology, also termed low observable technology (LO technology), is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive and active electronic countermeasures, which covers a range of methods used to make personnel, aircraft, ships, subm ...

Jefferson Mays Lewis Jefferson Mays (born June 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Obie A ...

as Walter Taffet, an officer for the

Office of Professional Responsibility The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), part of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and supervised by the FBI, is responsible for investigating lawyers employed by the Department of Justice who have been accused of misconduct ...

Gillian Alexy Gillian Alexy (born March 13, 1986) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her roles as Tayler Geddes on ''McLeod's Daughters'', Gitta Novak on ''Damages'', and G'Winveer Farrell on '' Outsiders''. Early life Alexy graduated from the Jo ...

as Annelise, an informant of Philip's *

Daniel Flaherty Daniel Flaherty (born June 11, 1993) is an American actor, known for his role as Stanley Lucerne on the MTV teen drama series '' Skins''. Life and career Flaherty started studying acting at age 11. When he turned 13, he booked his first short f ...

as Matthew Beeman, Stan's son *

Callie Thorne Calliope "Callie" Thorne is an American actress known for her role as Dr. Dani Santino on the USA Network series '' Necessary Roughness''. She is also known for past work such as her roles on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' as Detective Laura ...

as Tori, a woman Stan meets at EST *

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' J ...

as Claudia, one of Philip and Elizabeth's KGB handlers *

Reg Rogers Reg Rogers (born December 23, 1964) is an American stage, film, and television actor, known for his roles in '' Primal Fear'' and '' Runaway Bride'' and for the TV miniseries '' Attila''. He also appears in theater, both on Broadway and Off-Broa ...

as Charles Duluth, a journalist and KGB source * Peter Von Berg as Vasili Nikolaevich, a former KGB Resident *

Katja Herbers Katja Mira Herbers (born 19 October 1980) is a Dutch actress. She is best known for portraying Dr. Helen Prins on the WGN America drama series ''Manhattan'' (2014–2015), Emily Grace in the HBO science fiction drama series ''Westworld'' (2018� ...

as Evi Sneijder, Nina's cellmate

Production

, who portrays Arkady Ivanovich, was promoted to series regular for the third season, after having a recurring role throughout the first two seasons. Additionally,

and Richard Thomas were promoted from recurring status to series regulars. In October 2014,

was cast in a recurring role. Filming for the season began in October 2014. Co-star

directed the seventh episode of the season, marking his directorial debut.

Episodes

Reception

Critical response

The third season received widespread critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 100% approval rating, with an average score of 9/10 based on 53 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Family-driven drama and psychological themes propel The Americans' tautly drawn tension, dispensing thrills of a different ilk this season." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, it scored 92 out of 100 based on 23 reviews.

Accolades

The series was given a 2014

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

, with the organization stating, "In this ingenious, addictive cliffhanger, Reagan-era Soviet spies—married with children and a seemingly endless supply of wigs—operate out of a lovely 3BR home in a suburb of Washington, D.C. Between their nail-biter missions (and sometimes in the midst of them), the series contemplates duty, honor, parental responsibility, fidelity, both nationalistic and marital, and what it means to be an American." For the

5th Critics' Choice Television Awards The 5th Critics' Choice Television Awards ceremony, presented by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA), honored the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2014, to May 31, 2015, and was held on May 31, 2015, at The ...

, it won for Best Drama Series and received three acting nominations—

for Best Actress in a Drama Series,

for Best Actor in a Drama Series, and

Lois Smith Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American character actress whose career spans eight decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film '' East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles in a number of movies ...

for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series. For the

31st TCA Awards The 31st TCA Awards were held on August 8, 2015, in a ceremony hosted by James Corden at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. The nominees were announced by the Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is ...

, the series was nominated for Program of the Year, Rhys was nominated for Individual Achievement in Drama, and it won for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. For the

67th Primetime Emmy Awards The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2014 until May 31, 2015, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 20, 2015 at the Mi ...

won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama series after her third consecutive nomination, and

Joshua Brand Joshua Brand is an American television writer, director, and producer who created '' St. Elsewhere'', ''I'll Fly Away'' and ''Northern Exposure'' with his writing-and-producing partner John Falsey. He was also a writer and consulting producer of ...

was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?". For the

68th Writers Guild of America Awards The 68th Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best in film, television, radio and video-game writing of 2015. Winners were announced on February 13, 2016 at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles, California. The nominations for Televisi ...

, the series was nominated for Best Drama Series.

Home media releases

The third season was released on DVD in region 1 on March 1, 2016. Special features include deleted scenes and a featurette titled "The Cold War for Paige".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Americans (season 3), The 2015 American television seasons

Season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

Television series set in 1983