Best of the Small Screen, Cable Series No. 6

 


Welcome to this year's exploration of TV, the Best of the Small Screen. Throughout the year I'll be looking at my favorite shows in four categories: Network Sitcoms, Network Dramas, Cable Series and Streaming Series. We'll cap the exploration with my Top 10 shows of all time regardless of format. Check back each Saturday for another installment in the countdown!

Philip: Colonel ... I can't even remember his name. When they first asked me. They said it would be a hard life. They didn't want me to think it would be some big adventure. I said I wasn't afraid of that.
Elizabeth: Who knows what would have happened here? I might have worked at a factory. Managed a factory. You might've. Mmm. Maybe we would have met ... on a bus. They'll be OK.
Philip: They'll remember us ... when... They're not kids anymore. We raised them.
Elizabeth: Yes.
Philip: It feels strange.
Elizabeth: [in Russian] We'll get used to it.

The Americans (2013-2018)
Starring: Matthew Rhys, Keri Russell, Lev Gorn, Holly Taylor, Noah Bambauch, and Alison Wright
Favorite Episodes: "Pilot," Episode 1.01; "The Colonel," Episode 1.13; "Echo," Episode 2.13; "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?" Episode 3.09; "March 8, 1983," Episode 3.13; "Travel Agents," Episode 4.07; "Dinner for Seven," Episode 4.11; "The Great Patriotic War," Episode 6.05; "Jennings, Elizabeth," Episode 6.09; "START," Episode 6.10
About: As you'll see from this list, when it comes to great purveyors of drama on cable, there are two sources that have long stood out to me. One is HBO. The other is FX. This series, which asked you to root for and invest in Russian spies living in America and working to help the Soviet Union win the Cold War, is the best of the dramas on FX. Rhys and Russell are incredible in these roles, and this was a series that didn't overstay its welcome but created something powerful and emotional. The finale was, perhaps, the best episode of the series. When it ended, it topped my list for series that year. It was the best of a very strong slate produced by FX over the years. It was an easy call to add this to my list of favorite series and the best of the FX drama series.

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