Justified; The Americans

Justified, the critically acclaimed FX series, starts its sixth season on Jan. 20. Set in rural Kentucky’s drug culture, it has depths of characterization and setting unusual for television. Christians will see the main characters’ desperate need for Christ, but will also differ on whether the violence and sexual content make it unacceptable for their viewing.

I can’t recommend another FX series that has attracted a lot of buzz, The Americans, which begins its third season on Jan. 28. It’s set in 1980s Washington and depicts the war between deep-undercover Soviet spies and American spy-catchers. It has fascinating touches: The teenage daughter of the Marx-believing spies professes faith in Christ, and her evangelical pastor is neither a hypocrite nor a seducer (so far).

The problem, though, is that The Americans had in its first two seasons some graphic sexual scenes. Part of a spy’s job in this fallen world is to entice the vulnerable by using lust, but spydom’s sexual lure is also Satan’s. If we think we are invulnerable, we’re probably lying to ourselves.