On Tuesday, 21CF’s Public Affairs office teamed up with FX Networks to celebrate the final season of “The Americans” in Washington, D.C. The day kicked off with a panel discussion on Capitol Hill, co-hosted by the nonprofit CreativeFuture and the bipartisan Congressional Creative Rights Caucus (CRC).
With welcome remarks from CRC co-chair Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), the event featured executive producers and showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, actors Holly Taylor and Noah Emmerich, costume designer Katie Irish, and FX Networks and FX Productions CEO John Landgraf.
“These productions take human time and effort, and that intellectual property is as deserving of protection as any other economic good made through investment,” John said to lawmakers in attendance.
Panelists noted the local economic impact of the show’s production, including more than $189 million spent in New York over the show’s first five seasons. Costume designer Katie Irish explained: “I know the dry cleaners, the cobblers and the restaurant owners, and it has been absolutely wonderful to watch these local, independent businesses flourish over our six seasons.”
Representatives Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Sam Graves (R-MO), Karen Handel (R-GA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Kevin Yoder (R-KS), as well as more than 100 congressional staff and media, were in attendance. The show’s cast and creators also met with Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA).
Later that evening, 21CF and FX hosted an exclusive premiere of the first episode of the final “The Americans” season for a starstruck group of nearly 300 policymakers, influencers and media. Welcoming guests to the screening, 21CF EVP of Public Affairs Chip Smith expressed his personal appreciation for the show and the FX brand: “FX Networks stands out in the pack for its originality and eagerness to take big creative risks. And from my perspective, there is no single better, more relevant or exciting show on the network than ‘The Americans.’”
Following the screening, Axios executive editor Mike Allen moderated a panel discussion featuring Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields, Holly Taylor, Noah Emmerich and John Landgraf.
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The final season of “The Americans” premieres Wednesday, March 28, at 10 p.m.
