Keri Russell’s starring role in The Americans is essential viewing for all fans of riveting spy thrillers. Russell has been a television icon since she first broke out with the title role in Felicity. Felicity was a lighthearted college drama whose four seasons corresponded to the four years that Felicity Porter spent studying at the University of New York.

The success of Felicity opened Russell up to a much wider range of roles and opportunities. She’s been in huge franchise movies like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, as well as smaller independent films like Waitress, and she’s earned her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

But out of all her work on the stage and screen, from Wonder Woman to Cocaine Bear, The Americans stands out as the finest turn of Russell’s career. The role of Elizabeth Jennings allowed Russell to show off the full scope of her range and give performances within the performance as Elizabeth went undercover in search of well-guarded secrets.

The Americans Is A Must-Watch For Thriller Fans

The Americans is one of the best thriller TV shows ever made. It has a high-concept premise that hooks you instantly and immerses you in a high-stakes world with danger and intrigue around every corner. It’s a spy series set during the Cold War, but it curiously puts its protagonists — and, by extension, its audience — on the side of the Russians.

Russell and Matthew Rhys play a pair of Soviet spies posing as an ordinary married couple living in the American suburbs. They put on the facade of being a regular family, raising their kids in a quaint suburban home, but they spend their nights going undercover to gather intel that will destabilize the U.S.

The premise stretches its credibility a little bit — if the KGB had spies as convincing as the Jenningses, they would’ve won the Cold War — but it makes for gripping television. Their lives only get even more complicated when an FBI agent moves in next door and befriends them, completely unaware of their true nature. It’s a captivating espionage thriller.

The Americans Shows A Whole New Side To Keri Russell

Before The Americans, Russell was mostly known for her work on Felicity — and before that, she was known for her early appearance in The All New Mickey Mouse Club — so her turn as an unscrupulous Soviet agent was a surprise to her fans. The Americans showed a much darker side to Russell, and a much deeper dramatic range.