As Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt observed in its recently released third season, we know we're in a golden age of television when we take a show like The Americans for granted. And although FX's prestige drama never quite managed to dominate the award show circuit, it did win a Peabody Award for its efforts back in 2015. Considering the show couldn't topple Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad at the Emmys, fans may be wondering as the fifth season winds down: when will The Americans Season 6 premiere? Or maybe even contemplating if there will be another season at all. Well, there's good news and bad news.
The good news is, the show will return for a sixth season. The bad news? It will also be the show's last. On the bright side, FX gave showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields a lot of time to figure out how they were going to wrap the series. The network announced at the end of the fourth season that a 13-episode fifth season, followed by a gently truncated 10-episode sixth season would be its last. So Weisberg and Fields had ample notice to find an organic ending for the show.
Said Fox 21 president Bert Salke: "While we are already mourning the eventual end, we are grateful to FX for this generous two-season pickup that enables the show to go out on its own terms and gives the creators time to craft a final stretch as satisfying as the show itself."
And if you're feeling sad about a shortened Season 6, be glad it wasn't even shorter. "We actually told the network we wanted to do a three-episode final season," Weisberg told The Hollywood Reporter. "But they were convinced we couldn’t tell the story in three episodes and pushed us to do a full 10."
Both Weisberg and Fields cite fatigue from working on the show for its impending, shortened swan song, but they are committed to remaining writing partners in the future. In fact, they already have a development deal with FX for a new series after The Americans wraps. That is, after they take a little break. When asked what the plan was following The Americans' series finale, Fields joked, "We’re going to nap a lot — separately, of course."
The co-creators also agreed that it was good timing for the show to end because, when it began, it focused on humanizing a former enemy of the United States in the context of a period piece. As a real Russian threat begins to loom over the United States once more, the show doesn't quite work in the same way it used to. But you can catch the Season 5 finale on Tuesday, May 30, before we say goodbye to the show for good in 2018.
