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Season guide

The Americans: Season 4

13 episodes Premiered Mar 16, 2016 Updated Oct 5, 2026

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, the fourth season of The Americans follows Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, who are two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. In this season, Philip and Elizabeth are tasked with infiltrating United States biological and chemical weapons research. Meanwhile, Stan and the FBI get closer to finding out who bugged Gaad's offi

Previously on The Americans

Season 4 Lore Primer

Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.

  • ⚡ Philip and Elizabeth Jennings are two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C.
  • ⚡ Stan Beeman is an FBI counterintelligence agent who is their neighbor.
  • ⚡ The series is set during the Cold War period in the 1980s.
  • ⚡ Philip and Elizabeth were previously tasked with kidnapping a Soviet defector.
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Season overview

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, the fourth season of The Americans follows Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, who are two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. In this season, Philip and Elizabeth are tasked with infiltrating United States biological and chemical weapons research. Meanwhile, Stan and the FBI get closer to finding out who bugged Gaad's office.

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Season 4 Episodes

Episode Guide

🛡️ SPOILER SHIELD

Season 4 Progress Shield

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Binge Efficiency Engine

Season 4: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

23%
77%
Mytharc (3): Crucial lore & season climaxes
Core (10): Character development & subplots
Side Quest (0): Standalone / filler
S4·E1 Mytharc

Glanders

Mar 16, 2016 · 51 min

Philip and Elizabeth deal with the fallout of all they’ve wrought. What will happen when the FBI finds out about Gene’s suicide? How will Pastor Tim deal with the revelation that t

S4·E2 Core

Pastor Tim

Mar 23, 2016 · 48 min

Philip tries with increasing desperation to get rid of a sensitive and dangerous package as family tensions in the Jennings House reach a boiling point when Paige shares a secret o

S4·E3 Core

Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow

Mar 30, 2016 · 44 min

Paige copes with new burdens that come with her family’s secret as Philip and Elizabeth struggle to contain their cover without destroying their daughter.

S4·E4 Core

Chloramphenicol

Apr 6, 2016 · 44 min

A devastating flaw during a mission forces Philip, Elizabeth, William and Gabriel to confront the depths of their patriotism… and their mortality. In Russia, in striving to be a be

S4·E5 Core

Clark's Place

Apr 13, 2016 · 50 min

Philip must consider his life with Martha and make a crushing choice from which there is no coming back.

S4·E6 Core

The Rat

Apr 20, 2016 · 45 min

Martha must finally face the truth she has denied – and her life may never be the same. Plus, a chilling new development in William’s work forces the Jennings to face the realities

S4·E7 Core

Travel Agents

Apr 27, 2016 · 43 min

The KGB and the FBI both race to track down a vital agent… everything is at stake.

S4·E9 Core

The Day After

May 11, 2016 · 46 min

The Day After premieres, making the stakes - and terrible consequences - of the Cold War plain. Even with that in mind, will Elizabeth be able to complete the painful process of th

S4·E10 Core

Munchkins

May 18, 2016 · 49 min

When Paige’s long-ago indiscretion threatens to resurface and destroy the family, Philip and Elizabeth find themselves scrambling – and Paige finds herself reevaluating who her par

S4·E11 Core

Dinner for Seven

May 25, 2016 · 43 min

Elizabeth completes the last steps of a very personal operation… but at what cost?

S4·E12 Mytharc

A Roy Rogers in Franconia

Jun 1, 2016 · 46 min

As Paige deals with last episode’s trauma, she sees her mother in a new light… and finds she has inherited some of her parents’ skills. Plus, has Oleg reached his breaking point wi

S4·E13 Mytharc

Persona Non Grata

Jun 8, 2016 · 53 min

Philip and Elizabeth are in a high-stakes race against the FBI to recover a hazardous package. Will they get there in time? And will Paige follow her parents into the family busine

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