Matthew Rhys on The Americans ending: 'When things are going well, pull the plug'

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The penultimate season of The Americans is wrapping up on a high note, but despite the widespread praise and increased interest, star Matthew Rhys admits he’s glad the FX series is coming to a close.

“I think we’ve done five great seasons,” the Welsh actor said during an appearance on Entertainment Weekly: The Show. “[The writers] were told two years ago, ‘You’ll have two more seasons,’ so to have two seasons to write very strongly toward a strong ending, I think, is a very privileged position to be in. And I am always weary of wringing the towel dry. I think when things are going well, pull the plug.”

Rhys also weighed in how the current status of American-Russian relations helps or hurts the show and its relevance today. “Joe Weisberg, our creator, who is a former CIA operative, I think his point is, it never went away,” Rhys said. “Everyone goes, ‘How did you know this was gonna happen?’ and his point is, like, this has been going on, will continue — as long as countries are suspicious of each other, they will gather intelligence on each other, and they will help others to help each other, you know, fight whomever they need to fight. It’s, you know, they’re ever-decreasing circles.”

Rhys also dished on mixing work with pleasure, as he stars alongside his real-life partner, Keri Russell. For more, check out the clip above.

The Americans airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.