The Cold War TV spy drama The Americans is a fictional account of two Soviet spies living in the United States. It may be fiction, but that doesn't stop American intelligence agencies from being concerned about the show's content. In fact, the CIA has to approve every script before it's even shot.


The Americans was created by Joe Weisberg, a former CIA agent. And since he knows all kinds of stuff that the CIA would like to keep secret, they've reserved the right to censor anything they don't like on the show.

This isn't really that unusual for many TV and movie scripts. In fact, the FBI has an entire unit devoted to making sure it's viewed in the best possible light. And it makes perfect sense when the person doing the writing has behind the scenes knowledge of an agency like the CIA. But it's still a reminder that what you're seeing on The Americans is a carefully crafted fiction that doesn't expose anything American intelligence agencies wouldn't like you to see.


The Americans starts its third season on FX on January 28th. [Studio 360]

Image: Screenshot from Season 2 of The Americans