Yep, Keri Russell is expecting with 'Americans' co-star Matthew Rhys
PASADENA, Calif.— FX's acclaimed The Americans returns for a fourth season March 16, but some off-screen news is intruding on the 1980s period drama about Russian spies living in suburban Washington, D.C.
Co-stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, who play spies Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, are expecting a child. (They've been an item since 2013, when Russell separated from her husband).
At the Television Critics Association Saturday, they confirmed her pregnancy (she's about four months along), but with only five episodes remaining this season, "we haven't made any changes" to the story line, says executive producer Joel Fields, though producers will do their usual tricks hiding her belly from late episodes.
But, Rhys joked, "she's now incredibly effective with a blow dart from a seated position."
Russell remains mum on that (she giggled), but said the new season is about "the emotional cost to the people of all these choices of the past."
As last season ended, their fictional daughter, Paige, learned her parents' true identity, a revelation that posed a threat, especially after she confided the news to her pastor.
"There's still resentment and anger" at learning her life was a lie, Russell says.
"I was hoping if Paige ever found out, she'd be put into a wig straightaway," says Holly Taylor, who plays her. "That was my dream."
That hasn't happened, and efforts to force Philip and Elizabeth to send Paige to "Russian spy camp" have taken a backseat, says executive producer Joel Fields. "Now the game has certainly shifted in terms of parenting Paige, and the question of focusing on her recruitment is now secondary to figuring out how to ensure this family’s survival, as far as what’s happened to this story."