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“The Americans” co-showrunner Joel Fields feels that the show’s fourth season is the prelude to the final act of the FX drama.
“What we do know is this fourth season feels–if you think about a three act story structure, it feels like we’re coming to the end of our second act,” Fields said during a TCA panel on Saturday.
“And whether it takes a fifth season or a fifth and sixth season to tell the rest of that story, we’ll discover that as we start to dig into next season’s work,” he continued. “What we do know is we have the support of the network to do what’s right for the show and to make those choices based on what’s important to the story and what we want to do creatively.”
Also Read: 'The Americans' Sets Season 4 Premiere Date
Fields also addressed a question about whether or not the show has gotten more violent with each progressive season.
“We’re certainly not looking to top ourselves in any overt way,” he said. “But we are very aware…this is a show about soldiers. They may be behind enemy lines, they may be undercover, but they see themselves as soldiers. Forcing them to face the consequences of their actions…it’s provocative for the character and something we can’t run away from.”
FX announced Saturday that “The Americans” will return for its fourth season on March 16 at 10 p.m. The premiere episode, “Glanders,” picks up on the heels of last season’s finale. Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) are dealing with the fallout of all they’ve wrought.
Scene at TCA 2016 Winter Press Tour (Updating Photos)
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Getty ImagesEPs Brad Simpson, Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, co-EP Anthony M. Hemingway, Consultant Jeffrey Toobin, and actors Sarah Paulson, John Travolta and Cuba Gooding Jr. on stage for FX's "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" panel on Jan. 16
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Getty ImagesKeri Russell and Matthew Rhys on stage for FX's "The Americans" panel on Jan. 16
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Getty ImagesJay Baruchel and Eric Andre on stage for FX's "Man Seeking Woman" panel on Jan. 16
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Getty ImagesCreator/star Donald Glover on stage for FX's "Atlanta" panel on Jan. 16
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Getty ImagesCo-creators/EPs Zach Galifianakis and Louis C.K. for FX's "Baskets" panel on Jan. 16
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Getty ImagesFX CEO John Landgraf on stage during his executive session on Jan. 16
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Getty ImagesActors Rebecca Liddiard, Micahel Weston, Stephen Mangan, Co-Creator/EP David Hoselton, EP David Shore and Co-Creator/EP David Titcher on stage for Fox's "Houdini & Doyle" panel on Jan. 15
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Getty ImagesStars Vanessa Hudgens, Aaron Tveit and Julianne Hough on stage for Fox's "Grease: Live" panel on Jan. 15
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Getty ImagesActors James Earl, Charlie Saxton and Meaghan Rath on stage for Fox's "Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life" panel on Jan. 15
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Getty ImagesEP Adam Anders, Host/Narrator Tyler Perry, EP Mark Bracco and EP/Creator Jacco Doornbos on stage for Fox's "The Passion" panel on Jan. 15
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Getty ImagesDilshad Vadsaria, Tim DeKay and Rob Kazinsky on stage for Fox's "Second Change" panel on Jan. 15
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Getty ImagesHost Ryan Seacrest and judges Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez on stage for Fox's "American Idol" panel on Jan. 15
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Getty ImagesActor Tom Ellis and EP Joe Henderson on stage for Fox's "Lucifer" panel on Jan. 15
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Getty ImagesDavid Duchovny and Gillian Anderson on stage for Fox's "The X-Files" panel on Jan. 15
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Getty ImagesAmber Grimes and Nick Cannon on stage for Oxygen's "Like a Boss" panel on Jan. 14
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Getty ImagesEPs Philip D. Segal, Kevin Williams and investors Lauren Maillian, Randi Zuckerberg, Ido Leffler and Sarah Prevette on Oxygen's "Quit Your Day Job" panel on Jan. 14
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Getty ImagesActor Kieran Bew on stage for Esquire's "Beowulf" panel on Jan. 14
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Getty ImagesCandis Cayne, Caitlyn Jenner and Ella Giselle on stage for E!'s "I Am Cait" panel on Jan. 14
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Getty ImagesNathan Phillips, Britne Oldford and Julian McMahon on stage for Syfy's "Hunters" panel on Jan. 14
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Getty ImagesStars Olivia Taylor Dudley, Hale Appleman, Arjun Gupta, Summer Bishil, Jason Ralph, Stella Maeve and EPs Michael London, Sera Gamble and John McNamara for Syfy's "The Magicians" panel on Jan. 14
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Getty ImagesChristian Slater on stage during USA's "Mr. Robot" panel on Jan. 14
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Getty ImagesEPs Ryan Condal and Carlton Cuse for USA's "Colony" on Jan. 14
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Getty ImagesJamie Kennedy, Maya Erskine and Joshua Leonard, Melissa George, Dave Annable and Co-EP Dr. Kathy Magliato on stage for NBC's "Heartbeat" panel on Jan. 13
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Getty ImagesExecutive producer and star Eva Longoria and actor Jencarlos Canela on stage for NBC's "Telenovela" panel on Jan. 13
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Getty ImagesNBC's "Game of Silence" panel on stage on Jan. 13
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Getty ImagesExecutive producer Dick Wolf on stage for NBC's panel about "Chicago Med," "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago PD" on Jan. 13
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Getty ImagesActress Miranda Cosgrove on stage for NBC's "Crowded" panel on Jan. 13
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Getty ImagesJennifer Lopez on stage for NBC's "Shades of Blue" panel on Jan. 13
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Getty ImagesAmerica Ferrera and Ben Feldman on stage for NBC's "Superstore" panel on Jan. 13
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Getty ImagesMark McKinnon on stage for Showtime's "The Circus" panel on Jan. 12
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Getty ImagesLuke Wilson, Carla Gugino and Imogene Poots on stage for Showtime's "Roadies" panel on Jan. 12
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Getty ImagesEP Bill Lawrence, EP Blake McCormick, EP Steve Franks, and actors Wendie Malick, Page Kennedy, Justin Hires, Jon Foo, and Aimee Garcia for CBS's "Rush Hour" panel on Jan. 12
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Getty ImagesDaniel Henney on stage for CBS's "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" panel on Jan. 12
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Getty ImagesCBS News panel on Jan. 12
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Getty ImagesChairman CBS Sports Sean McManus, "The Super Bowl Today" host James Brown, analyst Phil Simms, announcer Jack Whitaker and announcer Jim Nantz on stage for CBS Sports panel on Jan. 12
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Getty ImagesSharon Horgan and Rob Delaney for Amazon's "Catastrophe" panel on Jan. 11
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Getty ImagesDirector Alex Gibney and producer Kahane Cooperman for Amazon's "The New Yorker Presents" panel on Jan. 11
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Getty ImagesTitus Welliver for Amazon's "Bosch" panel on Jan. 11
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Getty ImagesBen Chaplin for Amazon's "Mad Dogs" panel on Jan. 11
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Getty ImagesAlycia Debnam-Carey on stage for CW's "The 100" panel on Jan. 10
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Getty ImagesActor David Gyasi on stage for CW's "Containment" panel on Jan. 10
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Getty ImagesCW's "Legends of Tomorrow" panel on Jan. 10
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Getty ImagesExecutive producers Jennie Snyder Urman and Aline Brosh McKenna for the CW's "Jane the Virgin" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" on Jan. 10
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Getty ImagesABC's "American Crime" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesMartha Plimpton on ABC's "The Real O'Neals" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesStars Juliette Lewis and Michael Ealy on ABC's "Secrets and Lies" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesExecutive producer Jenna Bans and star Andrew McCarthy on ABC's "The Family" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesExecutive producer Reza Aslan on ABC's "Of Kings and Prophets" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesDominic Sherwood and Katherine McNamara on Freeform's "Shadowhunters" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesFreeform's "Recovery Road" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesAaron Paul, Michelle Monaghan, and Hugh Dancy on stage for Hulu's "The Path" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesProducers Anthony Zuiker, Darren Star and Robert Thomas on stage during Hulu's "Great Shows, New Audiences" panel on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesActors James Franco and Josh Duhamel on stage for Hulu's "11.22.63" on Jan. 9
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Getty ImagesSeries creator Tom Rob Smith on stage for BBC America's "London Spy" panel on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesCreator Peter Moffat on BBC America's "Undercover" panel on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesProducer Huw Cordey on BBC America's "The Hunt" panel on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesHost Chris Evans for BBC America's "Top Gear" panel on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesExecutive producer John Legend on stage for WGN America's "Underground" panel on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesSeries creator Peter Mattei, EP Peter Tolan and stars Ryan Hurst, Gillian Alexy, David Morse, Kyle Gallner and Christina Jackson for WGN America's "Outsiders" panel on Jan. 8
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Getty Images"Outlander" stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan on stage on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesActor Toby Stephens on stage for Starz's "Black Sails" panel on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesEP Steven Soderbergh, actress Riley Keough and EP Amy Seimetz on stage for "The Girlfriend Experience" on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesAnthony Hopkins on stage during Starz's "The Dresser" panel on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesStarz CEO Chris Albrecht on stage during his executive session on Jan. 8
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Getty ImagesPresident, TBS and TNT and Chief Creative Officer, Turner Entertainment, Kevin Reilly during executive session on Jan. 7
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Getty ImagesJake Weary, Finn Cole, Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman, Ben Robson and Shawn Hatosy speak on stage during TNT's "Animal Kingdom" panel on Jan. 7
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Getty Images"The Detour" star and EP Jason Jones and star Natalie Zea on stage for TBS comedy on Jan. 7
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Getty Images"Full Frontal" host Samantha Bee and EP Jo Miller on stage for TBS late night show on Jan. 7
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Getty Images"Angie Tribeca" stars Rashida Jones and Hayes MacArthur on stage on Jan. 7
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Getty ImagesKhloe Kardashian on stage for her FYI talk show "Kocktails With Khloe" on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesPaul Dano, Lily James and James Norton during A&E's "War & Peace" panel on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesWriter and director Benjamin Ross and actor Sean Bean on stage during A&E's "The Frankenstein Chronicles" panel on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesBradley James on stage during Lifetime's "Damien" panel on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesShiri Appleby, Constance Zimmer and Craig Bierko on stage during Lifetime's "UnREAL" panel on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesHost Craig Ferguson and EP Brian Vok-Weiss speak on stage during History's "Join or Die" panel on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesViceland creative director Spike Jonze introduces new network's panel on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesViceland creative director Spike Jonze and the network's hosts speak on stage on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesJohn Rhys-Davies speaks on stage for MTV's "The Shannara Chronicles" on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesNikki Glaser on stage for Comedy Central's "Not Safe With Nikki Glaser" on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesStars Sutton Foster and Hilary Duff speak on stage during TV Land's "Younger" panel on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesImprov group The Katydids (Caitlin Barlow, Katy Colloton, Cate Freedman, Kate Lambert, Katie O'Brien, Kathryn Renee Thomas) and EPs Alison Brie and Jay Martel speak on stage during TV Land's "Teachers" panel on Jan. 6
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Getty Images"Chasing Destiny" EP Jason Sands, host Kelly Rowland, creative director/choreographer Frank Gatson and EP Danny Rose speak on stage on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesBrandy Norwood speaks onstage during the BET "Zoe Ever After" panel on Jan. 6
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Getty ImagesConnor Schell (left), senior vice president and executive producer for ESPN Films, and Ezra Edelman, director of "OJ: Made In America" on Jan. 5
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Getty ImagesVince Vaughn, executive producer of "The '85 Bears," speaks during the ESPN Films "30 for 30" panel on Jan. 5
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Getty Images"Rough Draft" host Reza Aslan speaks alongside writer Norman Lear on Jan. 5
TV stars and executives promote new and returning shows at the annual Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour
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