When Does "The Americans" Season One (2013) Take Place?
"The Americans" season one is a historical fiction spy television series showran by Joe Weisberg with Joel Fields that premiered January 30th, 2013. So when is "The Americans" season 1 set?
It takes place in the year:
We know this because very early on in season 1 episode 1 "Pilot" when Russian Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti agent Philip Jennings/Mikhail "Mischa" Andreiovich Petrov hurriedly swaps out the license plates on their 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale, the Washington DC plate reads "81" in the bottom-right corner and the Virginia one says the same "81" in the upper-right corner. So it must be after 1977 AD (and probably during or before 1981 AD).
1981 AD
We know this because very early on in season 1 episode 1 "Pilot" when Russian Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti agent Philip Jennings/Mikhail "Mischa" Andreiovich Petrov hurriedly swaps out the license plates on their 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale, the Washington DC plate reads "81" in the bottom-right corner and the Virginia one says the same "81" in the upper-right corner. So it must be after 1977 AD (and probably during or before 1981 AD).
Later, while Philip is at a mall with his daughter Paige a creepy pedophile named Errol Bengoster puts down his Washington Liberty credit card and the expiration date on it clearly reads: "07/84" almost certainly representing July of 1984 AD. So it is most likely during or before July of 1984 AD.
More specifically, later in the episode, a TV broadcast news reporter says, "The Reagan Administration revealed today that after a month-long review, it will honor the agreement with Iran that led to the release of the fifty-two American hostages.", referring to the Iran hostage crisis. The infamous hostage situation only fully ended on January 19th, 1981 AD as United States of American President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) was being sworn in as the 40th president. So after a "month-long review" it is certainly January or February of 1981 AD.
Furthermore, the very first frame of the first episode is a white-on-black time and place setting title card that reads "Washington D.C. 1981".
Additionally, season 1 episode 1 includes three flashback sequences:
-The first is quick and includes another title card reading, "Gryazi, Soviet Union July, 1960" though this doesn't seem to be confirmable with context other than taking place "a long time ago" before the main action. It's probably July of 1960 AD.
-The second flashback depicts a scene that mostly occurs in the office of a KGB officer and there is a portrait on the mantle of Vladimir Semichastny (1924-2001) who was the chairman of the KGB from November 13th, 1961 AD to May 18th, 1967 AD. So it is almost certainly between November of 1961 AD and May of 1967 AD. Furthermore, it is labeled with a title card of its own: "Moscow April 1962". It's probably April of 1962 AD.
-The third definitely depicts KGB agent Elizabeth Jennings/Nadezhda Borisovna Popova and Philip arriving in the US for the first time as they express amazement at an air conditioner and she says, "What do you think, so far?" During the pedophile scene at the mall, Philip says, "Errol, she's 13." so it must be, at least, 13 years previous and that makes it 1968 AD at the latest.
1981 - 13 = 1968.
Furthermore, this final flashback is also labeled with yet another title card: "Northern Virginia August, 1965". It's most likely August of 1965 AD.
