FX Renews 'The Americans' for Season 2

FX

FX is sticking with The Americans.

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The freshman drama, created by Joe Weisberg, has been renewed for a 13-episode sophomore season. The news follows especially high ratings for the January premiere and significant DVR growth throughout its first month on the air.

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“The Americans has quickly established itself as a key part of FX’s acclaimed drama lineup,” said network president and GM John Landgraf. “Executive producers Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields and Graham Yost and their collaborators are telling riveting and deeply emotional stories, and the performances of Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich and the entire cast are simply outstanding. The show is truly worthy of its widespread critical acclaim, and we are confident that its quality will continue to yield a robust and passionate audience.”

With Live+7 day returns, The Americans' pilot episode has pulled in a total of 5.11 million viewers -- a network record for a series debut. And though the second episode saw a drop in Live+Same day returns, DVR growth has been consistently strong. The first three episodes have jumped a respective 44 percent, 58 percent and 68 percent.

"We’re very grateful to John Landgraf, Nick Grad, Eric Schrier and everyone at FX for their unwavering support of our show,” said Weisberg. “We’re thrilled to be able to continue writing stories for such an incredibly talented cast led by Keri, Matthew and Noah. This has been an amazing experience for me, and it couldn’t have happened without the tireless efforts of our cast and crew. We appreciate the support of the audience, and we believe they have a lot to look forward to the rest of this season.”

Set during the 1980s, Americans follows a seemingly normal couple (Russell and Rhys) in suburban Washington, D.C. In reality, they're deep-undercover KGB spies trying to infiltrate the U.S. during the Cold War. Even their children don't know their real agenda.

"We couldn’t have made it happen without the constant support of Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank at Amblin TV, David Madden at Fox Television Studios and Eric Schrier at FX Productions and their wonderful teams as well," added Fields.

Americans' critical reception has been overwhelmingly positive. The Hollywood Reporter's chief TV critic Tim Goodman gave a glowing review of the first two episodes, writing, "Comparisons with Homeland are inevitable, but the pacing and nuance driving FX's look at enemies among us might have real staying power."

Nine episodes remain in Americans' freshman run. It airs at 10 p.m. on FX.

Email: Michael.OConnell@THR.com; Twitter: @MikeyLikesTV