--- ---  # _Americans_ Producers on Russian Spy Ring Bust: 'They Must've Been Watching' by [Natalie Abrams / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Natalie Abrams / Entertainment Weekly Jan 27, 2015 9:59 PM UTC  Creator/executive producer/writer Joe Weisberg and Executive producer/writer Joel Fields speak onstage during the 'The Americans' panel discussion at the FX Networks portion of the Television Critics Association press tour at on Jan. 18 in California. Creator/executive producer/writer Joe Weisberg and Executive producer/writer Joel Fields speak onstage during the 'The Americans' panel discussion at the FX Networks portion of the Television Critics Association press tour at on Jan. 18 in California.Frederick M. Brown—Getty Images by [Natalie Abrams / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Natalie Abrams / Entertainment Weekly Jan 27, 2015 9:59 PM UTC Life imitates art, which imitates life. On Monday, authorities arrested Evgeny Buryakov, a New York-based employee of a Russian bank who is accused of working for the SVR, Russia’s version of the CIA. Two other accomplices that were part of a Russian spy ring reportedly got away. The news comes just days before FX’s Russian spy drama _The Americans_ returns for its third season. “Truthfully, our first question \[after Buryakov’s arrest\] was, we wonder if they were watching the show,” _Americans_ executive producer Joel Fields tells EW. Adds the show’s creator Joe Weisberg: “They must’ve been watching the show. They had to be.” The series stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as undercover Russian operatives living in the United States, though the show takes place in the ’80s during the height of the Cold War. The timing, the producers say, couldn’t be better for the arrest. “Are those guys, in their cell, saying, ‘Look, Wednesday night, we have one request’?” Fields jokes, implying that Buryakov hopes to watch the season 3 premiere. “That’s what’s going to get them to talk, I think. Maybe that was why they arrested them before the premiere, because they knew they’d have that leverage over them.” In truth, the timing of the arrest could help the FX drama in the ratings. The acclaimed series debuted to 3.22 million viewers back in 2013, but subsequently dropped below 2 million viewers throughout its first and second seasons. Its season 2 finale drew a modest 1.29 million viewers and a 0.5 in the coveted 18-49 demographic. _The Americans_ returns Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FX. _This_[ _article_](http://www.insidetv.ew.com/2015/01/27/the-americans-russian-spy-ring/) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com)_._ 'Americans' Producers on Spy Ring Bust: 'They Must've Been Watching' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3685092/americans-russian-spy-bust/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3685092/americans-russian-spy-bust/"},"headline":"Americans Producers on Russian Spy Ring Bust: 'They Must've Been Watching'","datePublished":"2015-01-27T21:59:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:55:32.338Z","description":"The timing of the arrest could help the FX show's ratings","url":"https://time.com/3685092/americans-russian-spy-bust/","keywords":["Television","the americans"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51ee57662ba133af/69877c3f55a8592484a857dc/the-americans.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Natalie Abrams / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51ee57662ba133af/69877c3f55a8592484a857dc/the-americans.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Americans","caption":"speaks onstage during the 'The Americans' panel discussion at the FX Networks portion of the Television Critics Association press tour at Langham Hotel on January 18, 2015 in Pasadena, California.","creditText":"Frederick M. Brown—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3685092/americans-russian-spy-bust/","name":"Americans Producers on Russian Spy Ring Bust: 'They Must've Been Watching'"}}]}] ```