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The Americans: What to Expect in Season 5

Might Philip become a clown?

malcolmvenable.jpg
Malcolm Venable

Few could have predicted that The Americans the acclaimed drama about two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington, D.C., in the 1980s, would've been so relevant in 2017 but yet here we are, no?

As the series approaches its finale -- Season 6 next year will be its last -- expect to see more of Russia, more of the solidly crafted story and... more cool disguises. What you won't see? Paige delving too deeply into the dirty business of her parents' work... at least not right away.

Check out all of TV Guide's Winter TCA coverage here!

There's opportunity now, of course, since she now knows what dad Philip (Matthew Rhys) and mom Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) really do for a living. "I never thought it would come to this," Holly Taylor said at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena Calif., Wednesday. Paige has deeply held beliefs, she said, and "it's hard for her to jump on the bandwagon of killing people and putting them in a suitcase. We have to play the waiting game."

With Oleg back in Russia, his status as a privileged member of society will allow the show to to tell stories from there, Joe Weisberg, creator and executive producer said. "For four seasons of the show, we were focused on those characters here in America," he said; now there's opportunity to delve into life in the Soviet Union. "We're going to take it throughout the season," he said.

Also on deck: more great disguises. Having convincingly transformed into sexy vixens, a janitor, a Vietnam vet and others, Philip and Elizabeth still have other covers to unveil. What might they do next? "A clown?" Rhys joked. Or maybe he wasn't joking? "There's a fine balance on the show we have to remain in the realm of this reality. We're not Mission: Impossible, where there's prosthetic faces being ripped off." There's a thick look book of disguises they've pulled off over the seasons, he said, noting that the variation they've achieved is incredible. "A clown seems like a natural progression."

The Americans returns Tuesday March 7 at 10/9c on FX.