Some summer links
Aug. 18th, 2015 11:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I dropped the ball on link-posting for most of the summer, but not on link-collecting. So that means a whole load of incoming links!
Arguably most importantly for the continuing presence of the show on North American screens, The Americans won this year's Outstanding Achievement in Drama award in the annual Television Critics Association awards. (The award was even presented by two critics who dressed up as "Clark" and "Jennifer" from the show!)
And not to leave out the Brits, the most important piece of news for the presence of the show on their screens: a deal has been made with ITV Encore to bring the show back to the UK after it was cancelled between seasons two and three.
The show didn't end up getting nominated for any significant Emmys, but there was a bunch of buzz around the possibility over the summer, and some of it is still worth reading and listening to in retrospect (mostly because it's not just about the potential for awards). Here are some links in that vein:
Indiewire interviewed co-showrunners Joel Weisberg and Joe Fields, and Goldderby interviewed Matthew Rhys (Philip) in advance of the Emmy nominations.
If you've got a bit of time to kill, here's critic Todd van der Werff (from Vox) making a case prior to the nominations for why the show actually did have a chance at some Emmy attention this year (audio, starting at around 29:00 and coming back to it around 38:00).
Of course, lots and lots of publications had stuff to say about the Emmy snub. I won't try to link to all of the mentions, but here are three pieces that focused specifically on The Americans: Decider, the New York Post, and Goldderby.
Entertainment magazine Vulture had its own alternate awards in its own categories this year, and The Americans won for best scene, best child actor, most improved show, and best drama.
There have also been a number of pieces about (or partly about) the show this summer that don't focus on awards:
Paul Sonne from the Wall Street Journal: "An ex-Russian spy on the accuracy of The Americans"
Alyssa Rosenberg from the Washington Post: "The economics that explain why more people aren't watching the best show on TV"
Emma Fraser from Flavorwire: "Talking TV underwear: ‘Masters of Sex,’ ‘The Americans,’ and ‘You’re the Worst’ costume designers on working from the inside out"
Kelly Schremph from Bustle: "How many The Americans seasons will there be? This Russian spy thriller could go on indefinitely
Philip Gould from the Providence Journal: "What's American about The Americans?"
Andrea Morabito from the New York Post: "Long live TV's female anti-heroes"
The show also made TIME TV critic Joe Poniewozik's list of the best shows of 2015 so far.
And finally, a new German spy show debuted this summer called "Deutschland 83" that has a lot of the same superficial premises. The co-creators and the star of that show talk about what they know about The Americans.
Arguably most importantly for the continuing presence of the show on North American screens, The Americans won this year's Outstanding Achievement in Drama award in the annual Television Critics Association awards. (The award was even presented by two critics who dressed up as "Clark" and "Jennifer" from the show!)
And not to leave out the Brits, the most important piece of news for the presence of the show on their screens: a deal has been made with ITV Encore to bring the show back to the UK after it was cancelled between seasons two and three.
The show didn't end up getting nominated for any significant Emmys, but there was a bunch of buzz around the possibility over the summer, and some of it is still worth reading and listening to in retrospect (mostly because it's not just about the potential for awards). Here are some links in that vein:
Indiewire interviewed co-showrunners Joel Weisberg and Joe Fields, and Goldderby interviewed Matthew Rhys (Philip) in advance of the Emmy nominations.
If you've got a bit of time to kill, here's critic Todd van der Werff (from Vox) making a case prior to the nominations for why the show actually did have a chance at some Emmy attention this year (audio, starting at around 29:00 and coming back to it around 38:00).
Of course, lots and lots of publications had stuff to say about the Emmy snub. I won't try to link to all of the mentions, but here are three pieces that focused specifically on The Americans: Decider, the New York Post, and Goldderby.
Entertainment magazine Vulture had its own alternate awards in its own categories this year, and The Americans won for best scene, best child actor, most improved show, and best drama.
There have also been a number of pieces about (or partly about) the show this summer that don't focus on awards:
Paul Sonne from the Wall Street Journal: "An ex-Russian spy on the accuracy of The Americans"
Alyssa Rosenberg from the Washington Post: "The economics that explain why more people aren't watching the best show on TV"
Emma Fraser from Flavorwire: "Talking TV underwear: ‘Masters of Sex,’ ‘The Americans,’ and ‘You’re the Worst’ costume designers on working from the inside out"
Kelly Schremph from Bustle: "How many The Americans seasons will there be? This Russian spy thriller could go on indefinitely
Philip Gould from the Providence Journal: "What's American about The Americans?"
Andrea Morabito from the New York Post: "Long live TV's female anti-heroes"
The show also made TIME TV critic Joe Poniewozik's list of the best shows of 2015 so far.
And finally, a new German spy show debuted this summer called "Deutschland 83" that has a lot of the same superficial premises. The co-creators and the star of that show talk about what they know about The Americans.