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The Americans is ending in two years, but could it live on with a spin-off?
"Mail Robot comes up a lot," executive producer Joel Fields quipped Tuesday at the Television Critics Association fall previews.
"Just this morning we were talking about a prequel, Elizabeth (Keri Russell) in the '70s," said creator and executive producer Joe Weisberg.
In all seriousness, though, Fields says there are no current plans for a spin-off because "we're looking to make these next two seasons the best we can."
The pair was tight-lipped on details on Season 5 as production is not underway yet, but they did share that tensions between Paige (Holly Taylor) and her parents regarding her recruitment will come to a head, and Stan (Noah Emmerich) might finally realize his neighbors are KGB spies. "The suspicions that have been percolating between the Jennings and their across-the-street neighbor are going to get more suspicious but in surprising ways," Fields said. Frank Langella and Margo Martindale will both return as well, with a "pretty big story" for the latter versus her one-and-done scenes the past couple of years.
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Fields and Weisberg have had the show's endgame in mind for years and created a "master document" in Season 2 of all the potential storylines they wanted to explore. They've since pared that down to the "final document" of all their ideas for the last two seasons. "We're always talking about this idea [for the ending] that we're stuck on [which] can change," Weisberg said.
For now, they are still basking in the glow of the series' first major Emmy nominations for drama series and lead acting awards for Russell and Matthew Rhys. "To get that recognition for it is for [the whole crew]," Weisberg said. "It's really just the best feeling in the world. We got that from everybody, from the network and the studio, and you guys [the critics]. And believe me, we freaked out. And to have people invested ... I have not gotten over it and I don't think we will."
The Americans returns in the spring on FX.