The Americans (1961 TV series)
| The Americans | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Starring |
Darryl Hickman Richard Davalos |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 17 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Frank Telford |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 44 mins. |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Black and white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | January 23 – May 15, 1961 |
The Americans is a 17-episode American drama television series that aired on NBC from January to May 1961. Set during the American Civil War, the series focuses on two brothers fighting on opposite sides of the conflict. Guest stars included Lee Marvin, Jack Elam, Brian Keith, Kathleen Crowley and Robert Redford, among many others.
The series was inspired by James Warner Bellah's 1953 novel The Valiant Virginians which was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post as Tales of the Valorous Virginians from May 9, 1953 through June 10, 1954. The novel is an arc of separate stories on the impact of the war on the young men fighting it. The series characters are Ben Canfield (United States of America) and Jeff Canfield (Confederate States of America).
The series was part of the United States' commemoration of the centennial of the beginning of the Civil War. It aired as a mid-season replacement for the canceled western series, Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin and Noah Beery, Jr., broadcast in the 7:30–8:30 p.m. timeslot on Monday evenings.
Ben Canfield was played by Darryl Hickman, older brother of actor Dwayne Hickman; Richard Davalos played Jeff Canfield; Davalos had portrayed James Dean's character's brother in East of Eden. Hickman and Davalos were the only actors who appeared in every episode of the series. Most of the supporting cast appear in only a single episode though several actors played the same role in more than one episode:
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