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The Americans season 3

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The Americans
Season 3
DVD cover
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkFX
Original releaseJanuary 28 (2015-01-28) –
April 22, 2015 (2015-04-22)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 2
Next →
Season 4
List of episodes

The third season of the American television drama series The Americans, consisting of 13 episodes, premiered on FX on January 28, 2015, and concluded on April 22, 2015.[1] The series was renewed for the third season on April 16, 2014.[2]

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.[3]

Cast

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Main

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Recurring

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Production

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Lev Gorn, who portrays Arkady Ivanovich, was promoted to series regular for the third season, after having a recurring role throughout the first two seasons.[4] Additionally, Costa Ronin and Richard Thomas were promoted from recurring status to series regulars. In October 2014, Frank Langella was cast in a recurring role.[5] Filming for the season began in October 2014.[6] Co-star Noah Emmerich directed the seventh episode of the season, marking his directorial debut.[7]

Episodes

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See also: List of The Americans episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		US viewers
(millions)
271"EST Men"Daniel SackheimJoel Fields & Joe WeisbergJanuary 28, 2015 (2015-01-28)BDU3011.90[8]
Elizabeth meets with an ex-CIA agent, who gives her a list of operatives. After the meeting she is followed by Gaad and another agent. There is a fight in which they are all injured and she loses the list. She and Philip meet with their mentor Gabriel, who is in favor of recruiting Paige. Philip is opposed to the idea and argues with Elizabeth. Annelise tells Philip that she is in love with Yousaf; Philip asks her to still get information from him. While having sex with Yousaf, she confesses her motives for being with him, and he strangles her to death. Philip arrives and offers to help Yousaf by disposing of Annelise's body. Stan attends an EST meeting, but decides that the program is stupid.
282"Baggage"Daniel SackheimJoel Fields & Joe WeisbergFebruary 4, 2015 (2015-02-04)BDU3020.92[9]
Philip and Elizabeth dispose of Annelise's body. Her death deeply affects Philip as they consider recruiting Paige. Nina has been arrested for treason and is in a Moscow prison cell, which she shares with a Belgian woman who claims to be innocent. Oleg is furious with Stan for Nina's arrest and confronts him in alley with a gun, but lets him walk away. Stan contacts Sandra, hoping to visit his son. Gaad puts Stan in charge of Zinaida, a defector from the Institute for US and Canadian Studies.
293"Open House"Thomas SchlammeStuart ZichermanFebruary 11, 2015 (2015-02-11)BDU3031.02[10]
In disguise, Philip and Elizabeth are able to put a listening device in a CIA agent's mobile phone, hoping to figure out how to get the list of operatives. They are in danger of being spotted by the FBI and CIA, since they must follow the signal in their car. Elizabeth is followed and is nearly caught, but the KGB stages an automobile accident with one of the CIA's tailing cars and she escapes. At home, the pain from the previous attack becomes unbearable for her, and Philip extracts some of her broken teeth. At the rezidentura, Oleg struggles with remaining in America or returning to Russia but decides to stay.
304"Dimebag"Thomas SchlammePeter AckermanFebruary 18, 2015 (2015-02-18)BDU3040.97[11]
Kimmy, the teenage daughter of the head of the CIA's Afghan group, is employed as a babysitter by the agent whose phone was bugged by Philip. Philip is tasked with working her for information and access. Nina is pressured to get a confession from her cellmate, Evi. Stan publicly voices his opinion at an EST meeting and is asked out on a date by a woman named Tori. Paige asks her family to invite Pastor Tim and his wife to dinner for her birthday. During the meal Paige reveals that she wants to be baptized, and the visitors support her. Philip and Elizabeth realize Paige ambushed them with the request and invited her guests for support.
315"Salang Pass"Kevin DowlingStephen SchiffFebruary 25, 2015 (2015-02-25)BDU3050.81[12]
Kimmy invites Philip to her house on a night that her parents will be away. Gabriel supplies him with Afghani marijuana and gives him advice about gleaning information from her, and about recruiting Paige. Philip finds an attaché case belonging to Kimmy's father and inspects it so he can plant a listening device later. Paige wants a new baptismal dress and Philip offers to take her shopping. Elizabeth causes the death of a Northrop employee, which leads to a better company job for Lisa as his replacement. Stan asks Oleg's help to find out if Zinaida is a Russian spy posing as a defector. If she is, Stan plans to use her as a bargaining chip to obtain Nina's release.
326"Born Again"Kevin DowlingTracey Scott WilsonMarch 4, 2015 (2015-03-04)BDU3060.93[13]
Paige gets baptized by Pastor Tim, with Philip and Elizabeth in attendance. Tori and Stan have dinner at the Jennings house. Stan admits that he still considers Sandra his wife, but has sex with Tori. Gabriel informs Philip that Philip's son from a previous relationship is now a soldier in Afghanistan. Philip increases his visits with Kimmy to check the phone taps. Kimmy tries to seduce Philip. Nina acts vulnerable to get Evi to confess about her boyfriend's treason. Evi gets taken away and Nina gets rewarded with a meal.
337"Walter Taffet"Noah EmmerichLara ShapiroMarch 11, 2015 (2015-03-11)BDU3071.22[14]
Philip confronts Elizabeth about her conversation with Paige about their earlier activism in the civil rights movement. Gaad discovers the microtransmitter planted by Martha and the bureau starts hunting for a mole. Martha's distress worries Philip. Stan shares a bonding story with his son. Paige begins to explore the history of racial discrimination. Philip tells Elizabeth about his secret son Mischa.
348"Divestment"Dan AttiasJoshua BrandMarch 18, 2015 (2015-03-18)BDU3081.13[15]
Philip, Elizabeth, and Reuben abduct two men who were planning to stage attacks and blame them on the anti-Apartheid movement. One is Todd, an undergraduate feigning interest in the anti-apartheid movement, and the other is Eugene Venter, a South African intelligence officer. Reuben violently executes Venter, but Todd is spared when he gives them the location of a bomb he was unable to detonate. OPR Investigator Walter Taffet begins questioning Gaad's staff, including Martha, who realizes that "Clark" (Philip) does not work for the OPR as he claimed. Elizabeth asks Gabriel's help in getting Philip's son off the front lines in Afghanistan. Nina is given a reduced sentence, with the possibility of a full pardon if she can get Russian physicist Anton Baklonov to increase his productivity. She also meets Vasil, the former Rezident, who has yet to forgive her.
359"Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?"Stephen WilliamsJoshua BrandMarch 25, 2015 (2015-03-25)BDU3090.99[16]
Elizabeth tells Hans that Todd saw him at the site where Venter was killed. Fearful of being excluded from further operations, Hans finds Todd and kills him. Martha, who seems determined to act as if nothing has happened, informs Philip that the FBI's Mail Robot has been sent for repairs after a tense Agent Gaad kicked and broke it. Philip and Elizabeth go to the repair facility to install a recording device inside the Mail Robot and are discovered there by Betty, who had come in to work on the business's books in the middle of the night. The repair facility was started by her late husband and is run by her son. Betty tells Elizabeth about her life and family; moved by Betty's openness, Elizabeth reveals that she is a Russian spy and allows Betty, who now knows she will be killed, to overdose on her heart medication. Stan and Oleg reach a tentative agreement to use Zinaida's possible status as a Soviet mole to secure Nina's freedom.
3610"Stingers"Larysa KondrackiJoel Fields & Joe WeisbergApril 1, 2015 (2015-04-01)BDU3100.90[17]
In a movie theater's bathroom, Zinaida is shown leaving a message, confirming that she is a spy. In the Russian factory, Anton tells Nina that he needs photographs to aid his work. After retrieving a tape from Kimmy's father, Philip and Elizabeth learn that Pakistan's ISI Agency is sending someone to the U.S. to discuss U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. Elizabeth checks into the hotel where the meeting is planned. Henry and Stan bond over films and games, as Paige, at Pastor Tim's urging, confronts her parents about their secrecy. They confess to being Russian spies but caution her about telling anyone.
3711"One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov"Andrew BernsteinStephen Schiff & Tracey Scott WilsonApril 8, 2015 (2015-04-08)BDU3111.04[18]
As pressure mounts, Martha expresses worry over her interview with agent Taffet. Paige tries to adjust to her new knowledge about Philip and Elizabeth's real identities. Gabriel informs Elizabeth that her mother is close to death, and Philip to lobbies for a visit. Elizabeth is making strides infiltrating the hotel, but Lisa's husband begins to interfere in the operation to get photographs from inside Northrop. Anton Baklanov begins to become emotionally attached to Nina.
3812"I Am Abassin Zadran"Christopher MisianoPeter Ackerman & Stuart ZichermanApril 15, 2015 (2015-04-15)BDU3120.98[19]
Paige leaves a note saying that she will be staying overnight at Pastor Tim's house, but Philip and Elizabeth confront her and bring her home. A new FBI agent confronts Stan about Nina. Elizabeth oversees a mission with Lisa to get photographs from inside Northrop. Paige expresses more frustration and her parents decide that she should travel with Elizabeth to see Elizabeth's dying mother in Russia. Philip and Elizabeth pose as CIA agents to manipulate Abassin Zadran, an Afghanistan mujahideen commander, who murders his colleagues, sabotaging the meeting with American intelligence. Martha grows frantic and Philip removes his wig to reveal his true appearance.
3913"March 8, 1983"Daniel SackheimJoel Fields & Joe WeisbergApril 22, 2015 (2015-04-22)BDU3131.22[20]
Against Gabriel's wishes, Elizabeth and Paige travel to Germany to visit Elizabeth's mother. Elizabeth believes the trip helped Paige understand, but Paige becomes more fearful. Philip kills the FBI's computer expert, Gene, and stages the death to look like suicide, hoping this will bring an end to the search for a mole. Stan tells Gaad about his plan to get Nina released by trading information that Zinaida is a spy. The plan fails and Gaad recommends that Stan be fired, but the FBI wants Stan to continue working with Russian agents. Philip welcomes his wife and daughter home and discusses recent events with Elizabeth, who gets distracted by Ronald Reagan's televised "Evil Empire speech". Meanwhile, a distraught Paige calls Pastor Tim to tell him that her parents are Russian spies.

Reception

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Critical response

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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."[21] On Metacritic, it scored 92 out of 100 based on 23 reviews.[22]

Accolades

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The series was given a 2014 Peabody Award, 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."[23]

For the 5th Critics' Choice Television Awards, it won for Best Drama Series and received three acting nominations—Keri Russell for Best Actress in a Drama Series, Matthew Rhys for Best Actor in a Drama Series, and Lois Smith for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series.[24] For the 31st TCA Awards, 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.[25]

For the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, Margo Martindale won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama series after her third consecutive nomination, and Joshua Brand was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?".[26][27]

For the 68th Writers Guild of America Awards, the series was nominated for Best Drama Series.[28]

Home media releases

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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".[29]

References

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  1. ^ Bierly, Mandi (November 21, 2014). "FX sets premiere dates for 'Justified' and more". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  2. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (April 16, 2014). "FX renews 'The Americans' for season 3". HitFix. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  3. ^ Hudson, Laura (April 22, 2015). "The Americans Season Finale Recap: Everyone Lies". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  4. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 5, 2014). "Lev Gorn Upped To Regular On 'The Americans', Books 'NCIS' Arc". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  5. ^ Prudom, Laura (October 16, 2014). "Frank Langella Joins 'The Americans' Season 3". Variety. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  6. ^ Sarkar, Samit (October 20, 2014). "'The Americans' cast and creators preview season 3 at New York Comic Con". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  7. ^ Fields, Joel (January 5, 2015). "Rolling on 307 with our very own @NoahEmmerich directing... another glimpse of the monitors @TheAmericansFX  :-)". Twitter. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  8. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (January 29, 2015). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Tops Night + 'The Game', 'Wahlburgers', 'Conan', 'The Americans' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  9. ^ Bibel, Sara (February 5, 2015). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Wins Night, 'Snooki & J Woww', 'Broad City', 'The Americans' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  10. ^ Cantor, Brian (February 12, 2015). "Ratings: "The Americans" Falls in Adults 18–49, Gains in Viewership". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  11. ^ Cantor, Brian (February 19, 2015). "Ratings: FX's "The Americans" Hits Series Low In Demo, Loses Viewers". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  12. ^ Cantor, Brian (February 26, 2015). "Ratings: FX's "The Americans Sinks to Another Series Low". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  13. ^ Cantor, Brian (March 5, 2015). "Ratings: FX's "The Americans" Rises Slightly from Last Week's Low". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  14. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (March 12, 2015). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Dual Survival' & NBA Basketball Top Night, + 'Catfish', 'Mob Wives' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  15. ^ Cantor, Brian (March 19, 2015). "Ratings: FX's "The Americans" Slips, Remains Well Above Season Low". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  16. ^ Cantor, Brian (March 26, 2015). "Ratings: FX's "The Americans" Slips; Viewership Back Below 1 Million". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on March 27, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  17. ^ Cantor, Brian (April 2, 2015). "Ratings: FX's Renewed "The Americans" Falls Yet Again". Headline Planet. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  18. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (April 9, 2015). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Dual Survival' Tops Night + 'My 600 LB Life', 'Catfish', 'Little Women: LA' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  19. ^ Bibel, Sara (April 17, 2015). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Dual Survival' & NBA Basketball Win Night, 'Catfish', 'Little Women: LA', 'Million Dollar Listing', 'The Americans' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  20. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (April 23, 2015). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: NBA Basketball Tops Night + 'Dual Survival', 'Catfish', 'Little Women: LA' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  21. ^ "The Americans: Season 3". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  22. ^ "The Americans : Season 3". Metacritic. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  23. ^ Holston, Noel (April 16, 2015). "74th Annual Peabody Award Winners". The Peabody Awards. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  24. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (May 31, 2015). "Critics' Choice Television Awards: HBO, Better Call Saul, Taraji P. Henson and Amy Schumer Among Big Winners". TVLine. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  25. ^ Ausiello, Michael (August 8, 2015). "TCA Awards 2015: Empire, Jon Hamm, Amy Schumer, Americans, Fosters and John Oliver Among Winners". TVLine. Archived from the original on August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  26. ^ Schwartz, Ryan (September 12, 2015). "Emmys 2015: Americans, House of Cards and Shameless Stars, Freak Show, Thrones Among Early Winners". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  27. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 16, 2015). "Emmy Nominations 2015 – Full List". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  28. ^ McNary, Dave (February 13, 2016). "WGA Honors 'Big Short,' 'Spotlight,' 'Mad Men' at 68th Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  29. ^ Lambert, David (January 19, 2016). "The Americans – Fox's Official Press Release for 'The Complete 3rd Season'". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
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