The Americans is great television but it's no more relevant today, starting its fifth season, than it was in past seasons. Despite critics' claims that this show is the best one on TV to capture the current political zeitgeist of intelligence leaks and clandestine meetings with Russian officials, it is actually at its best as a family drama, writes David Canfield in Slate. The show's humanization of both Americans and Russians displays much more layered storytelling and restraint than what we see unfolding in reality today.