WTF FX? It’s Beyond Ridiculous That ‘The Americans’ Is Not Currently Streaming

Team Decider has taken a good look at the 2016 Emmy nominees, as both a reminder of the glorious performances we’ve witnessed on TV this year, and also a guess as to who should leave some space in their bags for an extra hunk of gold at this Sunday’s ceremony.
As I got ready to re-watch Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys’ breathtaking performances in The Americans this year, I journeyed over to the FXNOW website, excited to watch an episode that earned the two stars their very first Emmy nominations for a show that they’ve been nothing short of fantastic on for the past 4 full seasons. However, when I got to the site…there was nothing. I was reminded that I need to catch up on Atlanta and You’re The Worst, two of the finest programs currently on the air. After some more clicking around, and scrolling through a handful of clips, I realized the fourth and most current season of the hour-long drama was no where to be found on its own network’s steaming site. Yes, the season ended in June, but they couldn’t keep it around for a little while?
It’s fine, I thought. I enjoyed watching the program through my cable provider this spring, but I’ll just head over to one of the several streaming services I subscribe to. I’ve got to be able to find it somewhere between Hulu and Netflix and as a last resort, Amazon Prime. Well, silly me, because it’s on none of those. Seasons 1-3 are available on Prime Video, but for this purpose, the only way to watch an episode from the most current season of the Emmy-nominated The Americans, was to pay $2.99 on Amazon Video. And again, this is after I watched the full season on cable just 3 months ago, and I am now trying to access it for my media job where I can gush over the fantastic performances and artistry of this show, one that could potentially win awards in two days and create a lot of buzz for itself, a show that could very much use a little chatter and a lot more eyeballs tuning in.

FX. What is going on? What are you even doing? You broadcast one of the most compelling TV shows of our time, one that is being acknowledged with award nominations, and you are hiding it from the world? I already love the show, and I was on a mission to re-watch it for work, so I put in a bit of effort to find it. But new viewers? They aren’t going to tolerate a scavenger hunt around the internet for episodes. The lead-up to the Emmys is a perfect time to make your show as available as possible. Start with streaming it on your own site, which audiences need to have cable to access to begin with. Then throw season 4 on Hulu, make it free for a week on iTunes, get it out there! Make it so that people can’t avoid it, show them what they’re missing. Do you think, just maybe, the reason why people aren’t watching is because they can’t?

Now, streaming windows are a real thing, and the system has not been refined as of yet, clearly. Networks have arranged deals that keep their shows off streaming platforms (at least the ones where you don’t pay an additional fee to watch individual episodes or a full season) for a certain amount of time in the hopes that people will flock to them once they are available on the Netflixes and Hulus of the world. But come on. The Americans is one of the 2016 Emmy nominees that could use a huge push. The whole aesthetic and the storytelling are next level, but perhaps it’s the Russian subtitles or the troublesome wigs that have not hooked viewers just yet. FX could’ve really capitalized on the Emmy chit chat around the show to get it in front of people’s faces. And straight up, they failed.
Streaming windows are dumb. I pay way too much money to way to many companies to not be able to easily stream shows, especially those that so recently aired. While streaming has beautifully changed our lives in a number of ways, these windows are a reminder that the protocols have not yet been mastered. FX is delivering us some of the best shows (and performances) across all the cable and streaming platforms. If only people could see them!
In the meantime, if you’re even remotely thinking about checking out The Americans, start with seasons 1-3 on Prime Video and splurge for the 4th season on Amazon Video. Fingers crossed, if Russell or Rhys walk away with those statues, you’re gonna want to understand why.
[Watch The Americans on Prime Video]