‘The Americans’ Season 5 Release Date, News: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys Have Conflicting Takes On Series Sex?

"The Americans" Season 5 stars Keri Russell (as Elizabeth Jennings) and Matthew Rhys (Phillip Jennings) seem to be at conflicting points over the use of sex scenes in their series. Onscreen KGB couple Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys became offscreen real-life partners during the course of "The Americans" series.

To say that "The Americans" series is not shy with use of graphic sex scenes is an understatement. Although the stars involved learned to come to terms with this preference by "The Americans" series, they not necessarily fully have the same stance.

Infiltrating the highest levels of power...#TheAmericans https://t.co/W4YzuUQu0e

— The Americans (@TheAmericansFX) August 5, 2016

  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matthew Rhys for one is unable to personally detach from nudity that Keri Russell does for "The Americans." Matthew Rhys tends toward protectiveness toward his "The Americans" co-star and wants to keep her robed as much as possible.

The mission is clear: #TheAmericans is on its way to the 2016 #Emmys. pic.twitter.com/3DqbL6Kz85 — The Americans (@TheAmericansFX) July 16, 2016

Matthew Rhys gave as example of a typical day of "The Americans" shoot. "She's standing there naked, we've cut for five seconds, Jesus Christ, and they're like, 'Dude, this is the fourth season.'"

Keri Russell, on the other hand, admits that she loves the use of graphic sex scenes in the series. "The Americans" star sees these as an exercise of power.

"In our show, I'm in a place of power: it's to get information from that person or to make that person feel a certain way," Keri Russell said. An interesting perspective to be sure given that in the past, The Hollywood Reporter quoted Keri Russell in explaining that "The Americans" Season 4 was an exploration of the emotional consequences of the job for Elizabeth Jenkins.

On the matter of where "The Americans" Season 5 is taking the series and whether or not this will be the last season for Kerry Russell and Matthew Rhys, executive producers Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields are reportedly on top of things. According to Keri Russell, the EPs already know how "The Americans" series will end, whether it ends with Season 5 or 6.

FX is expected to air "The Americans" Season 5 premiere in early 2017. Do you think graphic sex scenes are necessary for "The Americans" series to be a hit?