Here Are All of the Wigs Worn on The Americans So Far
The Americans is many things — an espionage drama, a domestic drama, a period piece. And it does many things well — those perfectly timed eighties music cues, those dazzling hand-to-hand combat scenes, the painfully real moments of marital bickering. But there is but one thing in particular that we can’t stop thinking about: the wigs. Wigs, wigs, wigs, wigs, wigs — The Americans is a wig bacchanalia, disguising its leads week to week in different (sometimes garish, sometimes sexy) hairdos. Good Lord, this show loves its wigs. Here’s every wig we’ve seen so far on Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, from vixen to doofy bureaucrat.
Many of the wigs on The Americans aren't just for disguise purposes: They're for sexy disguise purposes, and the wigs stay perfectly in place during a...
Many of the wigs on The Americans aren't just for disguise purposes: They're for sexy disguise purposes, and the wigs stay perfectly in place during a variety of sex acts. Like this blonde number.
Ah, Clark. We'll be seeing a lot of this one.
Shall we call this a dirtbag wig and mustache? A Ned Stark look? A grimy drummer?
A prim-and-proper pulled-back wig. The tough part about Keri Russell in all of these disguises is that she still looks beautiful. Conspicuously so! No...
A prim-and-proper pulled-back wig. The tough part about Keri Russell in all of these disguises is that she still looks beautiful. Conspicuously so! No amount of mousy bangs can destroy that!
Phillip is able to un-handsome himself a little better.
Like when he sweats into the wig enough to make it get a little curly. Humidity is everyone's enemy.
But then he smooths everything out and goes with a deep side part to be the suave Scott.
How about a sort of ratty red wig? Can that make Keri Russell seem normal-faced?
Nope. She looks kind of trashy, maybe, but still the prettiest trashy person in history.
Ha-ha, beatniks.
A receding hairline disguises all!
Nope, still pretty, even with a haircut that belongs on a male Chinese gymnast.
Wavy!
It's just me, a dowdy library type; no need to be suspicious.
How does this wig stay on?
Not a wig so much as an anti-wig: Elizabeth's hair is tucked into the back of her jacket. Itchy, but no sacrifice is too great for the motherland.
Clark again. Note that Philip's wigs are parted on different sides, adding yet another layer of mystery.
This one doubles as an Argo costume too.
Wigs get bedhead, too.
A little severe, but still not totally unfortunate-looking.
Okay, not a disguise, but we wanted to get in Phillip's old-timey curls. Look at those luxurious locks!
What does the "real" Phillip even look like?
Another awkward short hairdo, made much worse by the intense leather trench coat.
This appears to be a different dirtbag getup than the one from the pilot. Step one of spying: have multiple dirtbag wigs. Step two: be inscrutable. St...
This appears to be a different dirtbag getup than the one from the pilot. Step one of spying: have multiple dirtbag wigs. Step two: be inscrutable. Step three: profit!
Aw man, poor Martha.
"Hi, I would like to order your 'Blonde Velma From Scooby Doo' wig, please."
Sex wig sex wig sex wig sex wig.
Not a wig, but it did make us wonder: Under the right circumstances, would Phillip have to wear a chest-hair wig?
Flashback ponytail! In Soviet Russia, hair does you.
Again, not a disguise wig, but we're down with Elizabeth's chill seventies hair.
This is the kind of wig that says "Yeah, I'm a girl who goes to bars by herself to do crossword puzzles and bone."
Did he glue in extra eyebrows too?
Phillip probably should invest in multiple Clark wigs. This one poor wig really gets a workout.
Return of the heavy bangs from episode seven!
Eat it, Tootsie. You want garish glasses and a poufy wig? Margo Martindale will show you garish glasses and a poufy wig.
And there it is: The absolute worst, most hideous, and crunchy-looking wig of the series. The little wisps at the nape of her neck really sell the Nan...
And there it is: The absolute worst, most hideous, and crunchy-looking wig of the series. The little wisps at the nape of her neck really sell the Nancy Reagan–knock-off look.
Do you, Martha, take this wig to be your husband?
Oral-sex wig oral-sex wig oral-sex wig oral-sex wig.
Don't let that white fluffy do fool you: This is the woman who's about to Taser you.
Blonds have more fun.
A lot more fun.
The blond wig is goofy, but it's those sunglasses and the Texas accent that really made this special. And finally, a nod to how wigs can go awry durin...
The blond wig is goofy, but it's those sunglasses and the Texas accent that really made this special. And finally, a nod to how wigs can go awry during hand to hand combat.
Photo: Copyright 2014, FX Networks. All rights reserved.
The return of the blonde sex wig! Hope that gets cleaned somehow between uses.
This is one step above those Groucho Marx glasses-nose-mustache thingies.
Will Clark ever get a haircut? Or will poor Martha, who believes she is his wife, ever run her hands through his hair? Maybe one day she will offer to...
Will Clark ever get a haircut? Or will poor Martha, who believes she is his wife, ever run her hands through his hair? Maybe one day she will offer to give him a haircut and that will be the beginning of the end.
Is this season one's dirtbag wig just pulled in a ponytail, or is this its own ponytail wig? Unclear. Grimy nonetheless.
Maybe the '80s were just a really different time, but if someone rang my doorbell looking like that, I would immediately warn them that a badger had d...
Maybe the '80s were just a really different time, but if someone rang my doorbell looking like that, I would immediately warn them that a badger had died on their head.