25 Shows To Watch if You Love 'The Diplomat'

Updated Nov 10, 2026, 6:27 AM EST Kaitlyn Martin has been an Infotainment List Writer at Collider since January 2023. She graduated from CSULB in 2021, has had a short story published in the Summer 2023 issue of The Courtship of Winds and was a semi-finalist in the 16th Waterford International Film Festival. She is also a Volunteer Fiction Reader at Rowayat and The Maine Review. She currently resides in San Ramon, California with aspirations to become a novelist and screenwriter. She has a vast knowledge and love of all genres of fiction and especially loves film and tv that blend genres and take creative risks and are unafraid to be silly, weird and existential. She has a particular fondness for Stephen King, Mike Flanagan, Eric Kripke, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Vince Gilligan, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Greta Gerwig, Michael Schur, Dan Harmon, Guillermo del Toro, Shonda Rhimes, Quentin Tarantino, Michelle Lovretta, Joss Whedon, Gillian Flynn, John Green, and Jane Austen. The Diplomat, revolves around Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), who assumes the role of the new United States ambassador to the United Kingdom. In this position, she works to de-escalate an international crisis, form strategic alliances, and adapt to her newfound prominence in the public eye. The Diplomat has all the melancholy humor and fast-paced dialogue of many amazing political dramas that have come before it. For anyone who has finished The Diplomat and is starved for shows just like it, this article will provide readers with other similar titles, be it for their similar themes or writing style, which are perfect for scratching that particular itch. 25 'House of Cards' (2013–2018) Image via Netflix House of Cards is the most critically acclaimed political drama in the history of Netflix because it was the first major "prestige" series for which the streaming service began to be taken seriously. Similar to The Diplomat, House of Cards examined the intersection between marriage and politics with its story of partners who are both involved in public office in a way that becomes both politically and personally contentious. House of Cards shared the boldness of The Diplomat with the way it examined the possibilities of a female President of the United States, and Robin Wright’s performance is as daring, conniving, and intense as Alison Janney’s Emmy-winning role on The Diplomat. Both shows had a habit of being so realistic within their portrayal of modern political strife that they became downright eerie, as the events of the series began to mirror what was happening in real life. —Liam Gaughan 24 'Black Doves' (2024–2026) Image via Netflix Black Doves is an espionage thriller designed for Netflix’s binging method, and, like The Diplomat, it is a richly entertaining examination of balancing personal and professional duties. If The Diplomat explores the marriage of two politicians directly involved in the future of American politics, then Black Doves examines a secret agency program where former operatives have been able to integrate back into society with their identities masked. Black Doves is similar to The Diplomat in its study of the complex relationship between American and British politics, as the two generational allies end up having distinct methods of reaching the same goal. The second season of Black Doves hits on themes that might be familiar to fans of The Diplomat because Keira Knightley’s character Helen Webb is married to a member of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party who ends up being promoted to the office of Prime Minister. —Liam Gaughan 23 'John Adams' (2008) Image via HBO The Diplomat has resonated with audiences because it reflects the perils of the modern office of President of the United States, but John Adams is a pitch-perfect historical drama that explores the life of America’s second commander-in-chief, played brilliantly by Paul Giamatti in a performance that won him an Emmy. The campaign of a future President is not built overnight, and John Adams explores the career of its subject during his time as a lawyer in Boston before becoming a fully-fledged member of the Continental Congress and an advocate for the Revolutionary War. John Adams is as much a marital drama as it is a political thriller, and the chemistry between Giamatti and Laura Linney (who also won an Emmy for her performance as Abigail Adams) is just as compelling as the dynamic between Russell and Rufus Sewell throughout The Diplomat. —Liam Gaughan 22 'Mrs. America' (2020) Sabrina Lantos / ©FX / Courtesy Everett Collection Mrs. America is another timely exploration of American politics from a female perspective, and challenges the traditional role of feminist action through its study of one of the most controversial moments in contemporary civil rights. Cate Blanchett gives one of the greatest performances of her career as the conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, who launched a counter-campaign to the growing movement to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s to prevent sex-based discrimination, which ended up being unsuccessful. Both Mrs. America and The Diplomat examine the messiness of politics, showing how the opinions of those on both sides of contentious debates might not have arguments that are completely black-and-white. Mrs. America also has the sharp, witty dialogue that is common in The Diplomat, and includes an equally impressive ensemble cast that includes Rose Byrne as the political activist Gloria Steinem and an Emmy-nominated role for Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisholm. —Liam Gaughan 21 'Battlestar Galactica' (2004–2008) Image via Syfy Battlestar Galactica is a reboot of the low-budget science fiction series from the 1970s, but the modern version is a far more politically-driven, thematically dense thriller series that offered more relevant commentary on the mechanisms of war than most “grounded” shows. Legendary television writer Ronald Moore examined a future in which the remnants of humanity are on the verge of a war, a situation not dissimilar to the stark tension between the United States and its allies in The Diplomat. Battlestar Galactica examined many of the same issues as The Diplomat, including political assassinations, distrust among allies, electioneering, and coups. Although the idea of an action-packed space opera might not on paper be appealing to those who don’t consider themselves to be “genre” fans, Battlestar Galactica is a weighty, character-focused drama with more parallels to The Diplomat than it might seem. —Liam Gaughan 20 'The Night Manager' (2016–Present) Image via Prime Video The Night Manager is an exceptional miniseries for those who love The Diplomat’s narrative thrills stemming from political scheming and maneuvering that unfold with global stakes and career-ending ramifications. A high-octane thriller, it sees Tom Hiddleston star as Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier working as the night manager of a luxury hotel who is hired by a senior official running a Foreign Office task force investigating an arms-dealing ring that may be operating at the hotel. Based on John le Carré’s novel of the same name, the miniseries is an intoxicating thriller that combines its pulsating and dire stakes with a vast array of sensational performances, with the likes of Hugh Laurie, Olivia Coleman, Tom Hollander, and Elizabeth Debicki shining in support of Hiddleston, who is brilliant. The series goes for just six episodes, but it is universally heralded as being one of the sharpest and most engrossing spy thrillers the small screen has ever seen. —Ryan Heffernan 19 'The Honorable Woman' (2014) Image via BBC Two While it may lack some of the polish and sharpness of The Diplomat, The Honorable Woman is still an excellent show for lovers of the Netflix series to explore, given its thematic similarities and its gripping world of political manipulation. Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal) inherits her family’s arms-dealing operation and tries to use her power and status to help repair the relationship between Israel and Palestine, only to face opposition at every turn. Densely plotted and boasting a mature exploration of the complex political narrative, while also winning praise for its storytelling intelligence, ambiguous characters, spy thrills, and its treatment of its female protagonist within a world dominated by men, The Honorable Woman released to warm critical reception. While fans were more divided on its quality, the remarkably thrilling miniseries remains an enjoyable web of treachery and conspiracies that all lovers of The Diplomat ought to be able to invest in. —Ryan Heffernan 18 'Designated Survivor' (2016–2019) Image via ABC Running with a sensationalized plot that gleefully exchanges realistic stakes for mass entertainment, Designated Survivor balances blockbuster disaster with political angst to thrive as an accessible and pulsating thriller. It transpires in the aftermath of a bombing attack on the night of the State of the Union address. With the U.S. President and everyone in line to succeed him wiped out in the explosion, irrelevant cabinet minister Thomas Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) is sworn in as the next president, leaving him to navigate a treacherous web of conspiracy and deceit. While it launches with an attention-grabbing and pulse-raising pilot episode, the series isn’t immune to occasional lulls throughout its three-season tenure. That being said, there is more than enough intrigue and deceptive twists to keep lovers of winding political thrillers engrossed from start to finish. —Ryan Heffernan 17 'The Bureau' (2015–2020) Image via Canal+ Lovers of great espionage thrillers would be well advised to seek out some of the best offerings of the genre in the wheelhouse of international television. For lovers of The Diplomat, there are few foreign series as commendable as The Bureau, a French spy show based on contemporary events and accounts from actual past spies that focuses on the missions and lives of agents involved with the nation’s external security service. Within its premise, it finds an intriguing focus in Guillaume Debailly (Matthieu Kassovitz), an agent returning to Paris following six years working undercover in Damascus who struggles to adjust to civilian life while reckoning with demons from his past. The hit series ran for five seasons from 2015-2020, earning widespread acclaim for its credible suspense and its character-driven arcs that hook the viewer in. —Ryan Heffernan 16 'The Little Drummer Girl' (2018) Something of a forgotten gem of 2010s television, The Little Drummer Girl features a spectacular cast containing Florence Pugh, Alexander Skargård, and Michael Shannon as it adapts John le Carré’s novel of the same name. It follows a radical left-wing actress from England who is recruited by Mossad in the late 1970s to infiltrate a Palestinian terrorist group plotting a series of attacks in Europe. While dense and convoluted to the point that it can be quite difficult to follow, The Little Drummer Girl coasts on the back of its supreme talent to deliver a gripping political thriller that is easy to fixate on throughout the entirety of its six-episode run. The miniseries’ initial release may not have had the cultural impact it deserved, but it is already gaining retrospective attention as Pugh’s career continues to soar, making it likely that The Little Drummer Girl will become something of a cult classic of political television in time. —Ryan Heffernan