When Soviet spy drama “The Americans” ended its second season last May, it did so with the bombshell that the KGB is starting a program for second-generation illegals — and that the Center wants to recruit Paige (Holly Taylor), the daughter of undercover agents Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) Jennings.
That conflict is still brewing when the FX series returns for Season 3 Wednesday at 10 p.m., with the premiere digging into her parents’ opposing views on turning their first-born into a spy.
“It causes a lot of strain between both of them,” Taylor, 17, tells The Post. “Elizabeth is obviously for it a little more than Philip is.”
Her father’s opposition stems from his realization that he was forced into a life that he didn’t choose — and won’t have the same fate befall his daughter.
“He doesn’t want her pushed into something at such a young, vulnerable, impressionable age where in a few years she’s up over her head, because it’s not a job you can quit overnight or walk away from,” Rhys says. “He doesn’t want her to have to do the many awful things he has to do in order to stay alive and therefore keep the family alive.”
But Elizabeth — who is more staunchly committed to Mother Russia’s cause — sees a groundwork for Paige’s possible future in Soviet espionage through her church youth group, where Paige has campaigned against nuclear weapons.
In Season 3, Paige’s passion for religion and politics continues (Philip is surprised to see her reading the newspaper one morning), though her parents have become more supportive of her faith.
“She’s less snappy and snarky towards them,” Taylor says. “She’s starting to come into her own and realize who she is, so her parents aren’t as annoying to her as they were before.”
There are other normal teenage problems — including a possible love interest and constant homework (something to which Taylor, a junior at her New Jersey high school, can relate). But Paige’s curiosity about her parents’ odd behavior continues, with the risk of her discovering their true identity a constant threat.
“I think it would be really hard for Paige to understand and to absorb if she did find out,” Taylor says. “That’s such a huge thing to hear, that your parents aren’t who they said they were for the past 13 to 14 years.
“Hopefully eventually she would … start to respect that her parents are doing the same thing that she’s doing with the church — they’re fighting for something they believe in and want to have a motive to live for.”
With her parents’ opposing views on Paige’s future set to be the predominant arc for Season 3, Taylor for one is hoping her character gets brought into the fold.
“I’m just excited to hopefully be a spy; that would be awesome,” she says.
“I don’t know if they’d have me kicking butt like Elizabeth and Philip do … or wearing disguises. I’m up for anything. It would be so exciting to join their family business.”