How The Diplomat became TV’s slickest, most addictive thriller

The Diplomat serves up a deliciously fizzy cocktail of ingredients. A dynamic cast generating crackling chemistry. Razor-sharp, briskly delivered dialogue. Robust battles of the sexes. A wild ride through the backroom manoeuvres of global politics executed with the propulsive pace of a thriller. As a bonus, there are the pleasures of what its creator and showrunner Debora Cahn has called “location porn”: a veritable gallery of glamorous settings that provide viewers with access to posh places they could never hope to enter.The glossy, big-budget political drama’s brand of international diplomacy isn’t about interminable meetings nutting out the minutiae of trade deals in undistinguished conference rooms. It operates in territory closer to the jet-setting realm of James Bond, building its fictional world in English castles, American coastal mansions and Italian villas. When in Paris, it’s a gala function at the Louvre.Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford in The Diplomat.Clifton Prescod/NetflixThis series isn’t concerned with the political ramifications of fuel prices or the cost of living crisis. Focusing on international relations at the top levels of government, it’s high stakes in high style. Aircraft carriers are attacked, NATO is threatened and nuclear weapons are stolen; the Western world seems perpetually on the brink of war. It’s grounded in the real world, but not exactly as we know it.The Diplomat takes big swings at big subjects, and the skill of the cast and the quality of the writing help to make them work, fuelled by the accelerated pace and omnipresent sense of urgency. As the recent, compelling and cleverly shaped fourth season attests, it continues to fire on all cylinders.The series began in 2023 with the appointment of Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) to the post of American ambassador to the UK and has subsequently charted her frequently fraught progress, establishing early that she’s a career foreign-service officer more comfortable working in Afghanistan than in London. Kate’s accustomed to, and skilled at, bargaining in basements with warlords, more confident wearing a burqa than a ballgown to do her job.For her, submitting to interviews with fashion magazines about her life and marriage is torture: she’s comfortable striding around purposefully in a wardrobe of black pantsuits and has to be reminded by her stalwart deputy, Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh), to brush her hair. Although extremely cluey in the ways of the world, Kate’s not necessarily suited to the niceties of diplomatic service, and such a high-profile position demands a shift in a range of ways, including learning about English protocols and practices while endeavouring to represent the priorities of her president. Cahn and Russell have both described their title character as “a raw nerve”.But she’s also a dutiful servant of her country, and advocating for its interests hasn’t been a cakewalk. Through the series, the US hasn’t proven itself to be a reliable or trustworthy force and the recent season has presented particular challenges reflecting intriguing real-world parallels.Warning: spoilers below, including for the recently released fourth season.Allison Janney in season four of The Diplomat.Clifton Prescod/NetflixKeri Russell in The Diplomat.Nick Wall/NetflixEssentially, there has been ongoing concern about the psychological fitness of the US commander-in-chief. Vice-President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) ascended to the Oval Office following the sudden death of the previous incumbent at the end of the second season. Given Penn’s problematic history when she took the top job, Kate and her equally experienced husband, foreign-service veteran Hal (Rufus Sewell), had doubts about her judgement and capabilities.From early in the new season, after President Penn is the victim of an assassination attempt, concerns about her state of mind and her behaviour steadily escalate. In the aftermath of the shooting, she becomes more impatient, aggressive and intolerant of objections. She’s increasingly erratic, her temper short and her attitude combative. She jeopardises long-time alliances and steers her country towards conflict.There are clearly parallels with the current leader of the US – including the shooting – but, given the gender swap, Cahn and her writers also get to play with the idea of an embattled woman digging in and doubling down in the face of uncertainty about her strength and resilience. The troubled and troubling leader is desperate to demonstrate that she’s not weak or unfit for her role. She refuses to acknowledge any chink in her armour that might be exploited by enemies or rivals. And the reliably terrific Janney, who this year won an Emmy for the role, has made a meal of the part.The Diplomat astutely incorporates attributes of other shows that debut showrunner Cahn has worked on as a writer and producer. It recalls The West Wing’s pace, literate dialogue and passion for the mechanics of politics. (It’s also become a bit of a West Wing reunion, not only with Janney and Bradley Whitford as her husband, but also director Alex Graves – one of West Wing’s best – and writer-producers Peter Noah and Eli Attie.) It has Homeland’s suspense, edgy characterisations and unrelenting sense of threat, as well as Grey’s Anatomy’s affection for attractive, capable professionals and their messy romantic lives.Rufus Sewell and Keri Russell in The Diplomat.Nick Wall/NetflixFront and centre are the Wylers: a pair of talented, knowledgeable and ambitious people navigating a tempestuous, see-sawing marriage. There’s also the wobbly relationship between Stuart and the CIA station chief, Eidra Park (Ali Ahn); and more recently, the increasingly uncomfortable union of the Penns.Another highlight has been writing and casting of the English prime ministers: initially the cunning, impulsive and explosive Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) and, in the new season, a vivid contrast provided by the steely, strategic Bethan Vaughan (Jodie Whittaker).Given the fourth season’s timely attention to the ructions ignited by a loose-cannon president, it would be fascinating to know what’s happening in The Diplomat‘s writers’ room following the midterm elections. How will they respond to the radically changed landscape in the US? Given a fifth season was recently announced, hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out.The Diplomat is streaming on Netflix.Want more TV? We’ve got you.Newsletter: Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. 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