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 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.
1981 AD
We know this because very early on in season 1 episode 1 "Pilot" when 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.
More specifically, later in the episode, a TV new broadcast 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 famous and hostage 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 it is almost 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, the second has no context but it is clearly labeled with a title card of its own: "Moscow April 1962".
-The third definitely depicts 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?"
1981 - 16? = 1965.
Furthermore, this final flashback is also clearly labeled with a title card of its own: "Northern Virginia August, 1965".
