FX has set the premiere dates for new limited series “Feud: Bette and Joan,” as well as the start dates for the next seasons of “Archer” and “The Americans.”
“Feud” (pictured above) hails from “American Horror Story” creator Ryan Murphy, and tells the story of the legendary rivalry between Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) during their collaboration on the Academy Award-nominated thriller “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” — and well after the cameras stopped rolling.
The series explores how the two women endured ageism, sexism, and misogyny while struggling to hang on to success and fame in the twilight of their careers, per FX.
In addition to Academy Award winners Lange and Sarandon, the cast includes Alfred Molina as the film’s director, Robert Aldrich, Stanley Tucci as studio titan Jack Warner, Judy Davis as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, Jackie Hoffman as Crawford’s housekeeper Mamacita, and Alison Wright as Aldrich’s assistant Pauline.
Guest stars include Dominic Burgess as Crawford and Davis’ co-star Victor Buono, Catherine Zeta-Jones as film star Olivia de Havilland, Sarah Paulson as Geraldine Page, Kathy Bates as Joan Blondell and Kiernan Shipka as B.D., Bette Davis’ daughter.
Murphy, Tim Minear, Alexis Martin Woodall, and Dede Gardner and Brad Pitt will executive produce. The miniseries hails from Fox 21 Television Studios, and will debut Sunday, March 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.
“The Americans” returns for its fifth and penultimate season on its new night, Tuesdays, beginning March 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Set in the 1980s at the height of the Cold War, “The Americans” is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington D.C. The arranged marriage of Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) grows more passionate and genuine by the day, but as the pressures and demands of the job grow heavier, the personal toll becomes almost too exhausting to bear, per FX’s official description.
Having revealed their true identities to their teenage daughter, Paige (Holly Taylor), Philip and Elizabeth’s ability to protect their cover and their family’s safety has become even more tenuous. Even as Paige pushes her parents to bring her deeper into their confidence, Philip and Elizabeth struggle to maintain normalcy in their family, especially around their son, Henry (Keidrich Sellati).
Paige’s budding romance with Matthew, the son of their neighbor, FBI Agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), further complicates matters since Stan – Philip’s best friend — remains the greatest threat to the Jennings’ safety. He and his partner, Agent Dennis Aderholt (Brandon J. Dirden) are on the task force that seeks to uncover the Soviet Illegals living among them. After Stan’s KGB lover/asset Nina was sent back to Moscow and executed for treason, he cultivated a relationship with KGB officer Oleg Burov (Costa Ronin), who, torn between duty and conscience, shared top Soviet secret intel with Stan that allowed the FBI to avert a potentially catastrophic loss of life.
Disillusioned with the KGB, Oleg returned home to Russia, but he is finding it harder to escape his past transgressions than he had hoped. As the Cold War rages on, paranoia on both sides reaches new heights, making Philip and Elizabeth’s work increasingly vital — and eminently more perilous.
“The Americans” was created by Joe Weisberg, who executives produces and writes with Joel Fields. Graham Yost, Chris Long and Stephen Schiff are also executive producers, along with Amblin Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Joshua Brand is consulting producer. “The Americans” is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions.
As previously announced, “Archer” will move to FXX for its eighth season. It will run Wednesdays beginning April 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
The half-hour animated comedy follows private eye Sterling Archer and his quest to find his partner’s killer in 1947 Los Angeles. The case proves to be more difficult than expected after Archer quickly gets mixed up in a deadly game of tug of war between Los Angeles’ most powerful crime bosses. Every clue leads Archer further away from his goal and deeper into a mystery involving kidnapping, prostitution and drug addiction.
“Archer” features the voices of H. Jon Benjamin, Jessica Walter, Aisha Tyler, Judy Greer, Chris Parnell, Amber Nash, Adam Reed and Lucky Yates. The series was created by Adam Reed and Floyd County Productions and is executive produced by Reed and Matt Thompson. “Archer” hails from FX Productions.