'The Americans' Season 2 on FX / Cast Returns for Retro Spy Series, January 2014 Premiere / Do Philip and Elizabeth Stay Together? Does Claudia Get Killed Off? [TRAILER]

The Americans is gearing up for Season 2, scheduled for a January 2014 premiere on FX. The retro spy drama set in the 1980s Cold War only needed 4 episodes to convince FX to sign on for a whole new batch of episodes.

"The Americans has quickly established itself as a key part FX's acclaimed drama line-up," FX president John Landgraf said in a statement. "Executive producers Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields and Graham Yost and their collaborators are telling riveting and deeply emotional stories and the performances of Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich and the entire cast are simply outstanding. The show is truly worthy of its widespread critical acclaim and we are confident that its quality will continue to yield a robust and passionate audience."

Season 1 cast members Alison Wright, who pays Margret and Annet Mahendru, who plays Nina are back for the show's second season.

In fact the show's producers credit Mahendru's performance for a lot of the success of Season 1.

"Annet Mahendru has been a revelation as Nina, bringing the character to life with a rich and subtle depth that keeps you guessing as to what's really percolating under the surface," Executive producers Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields explained. "And Alison Wright's portrayal of Martha is heartbreakingly real at every turn. We are thrilled to add them to our outstanding company of actors."

So what can fans expect for Season 2? FX has been pretty tight-lipped about spoilers but have hinted at a couple themes for the new season.

FX on Philip and Elizabeth's marriage in Season 2:

"It's hard to imagine The Americans without the marriage being the center of it.... but when it comes to jeopardy, I don't think we'd want to try to sustain "are they or aren't they" [going to break up]."

Will there be some sort of jump in time in Season 2?

"I'm not sure. The way our timeframe is working, 1981 has gone slowly for us. We're not going to start [Season 2] with a big time jump. But then how the second season unfolds, we don't know."

We know that much of The Americans Season 1 cast is returning for Season 2, but will scheduling conflicts force FX to kill off Claudia, played by Margo Martindale?

FX jokingly responded: the KGB has a very, very long reach and we believe that when given the opportunity, they will return Claudia to her rightful position doing what it is she should be doing."

Tune in for The Americans Season 2, set to premiere January 2014 on FX.