Fans of political thrillers have had a great start to the year. With the success of The Night Agent, Netflix is rolling out another political series this month. But, instead of waiting for the Night Action phone to ring, audiences can watch a former diplomat trying to prevent war from breaking out across continents in The Diplomat.
Not to be confused with the British series of the same name that debuted earlier this year, Netflix's The Diplomat stars Keri Russell in the lead role. According to Deadline, the series earned a series order in January 2022. Debora Cahn, known for other political dramas like The West Wing and Homeland, serves as the series creator. She is credited with writing half of the episodes for the new series in addition to serving as an executive producer alongside Russell.
Get ready to make alliances and work with fellow diplomats as we share everything there is to know about The Diplomat.
The Diplomat: The Plot
The series follows Russell as Kate Wyler as she starts her new role as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom. The synopsis provided by Netflix gives more insight into what she will be expected to do as a diplomat and the challenges she'll face as she balances her new position and her marriage.
Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is the new US Ambassador to the United Kingdom. She was supposed to go to Afghanistan. She’s great in a crisis zone. In a historic home… less so. War is brewing on one continent and boiling over on another. Kate will have to diffuse international crises, forge strategic alliances in London, and adjust to her new place in the spotlight — all while trying to survive her marriage to fellow career diplomat and political star Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell).
The trailer gives a better look at what to expect. Kate is heard saying, "Someone is luring a strike force into the Persian Gulf," setting up the international crises she will likely spend the season dealing with. Before becoming the ambassador, she was a longtime diplomat, giving her a different set of skills that may not transfer over as well as she hoped.
Her husband was an ambassador before her, though it isn't clear which country he worked with. We don't know why he isn't an ambassador anymore, but with the hint that her marriage is struggling, it seems like her new position and his lack of a similar position may be the cause of their issues. Based on a particular scene, it looks like those struggles will spill over into her professional life, but hopefully will not impede her abilities to help prevent a war.
The Diplomat: The Cast & Crew
Keri Russell is Kate Wyler, the titular diplomat. The actress is known for a variety of film roles, like Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, Mission: Impossible III, Dark Skies, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and the recent release Cocaine Bear. Her television work includes leading roles in Malibu Shores, Felicity, and The Americans. Rufus Sewell stars as Hal Wyler, Kate's husband, and fellow diplomat. Sewell is recognizable for his roles in The Legend of Zorro, The Father, The Man in the High Castle, and Kaleidoscope.
Additional cast members include David Gyasi (Interstellar, Annihilation, Carnival Row), Ali Ahn (The Path, Raising Dion), Rory Kinnear (No Time to Die, Our Flag Means Death), Ato Essandoh (Blue Bloods, Elementary), Miguel Sandoval (Oculus, Station 19), Nana Mensah (13 Reasons Why, New Amsterdam), Michael McKean (Laverne & Shirley, Better Call Saul), Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who), Celia Imrie (A Cure for Wellness), and Penny Downie (London Has Fallen, The Crown).
The production team behind The Diplomat consists of Dan Toland as a producer, with Cahn, Russell, and Janice Williams as executive producers. With Cahn writing several episodes of the series, other writers include Peter Noah, Amanda Johnson-Zetterström, Anna Hagen, and Mia Chung. Simon Cellan Jones is credited as the director of the first two episodes.
Release Date
All eight episodes will be available to stream on Netflix starting Apr. 20.
Everything Else We Know
Based on the showrunner, The Diplomat is in good hands. Debora Cahn is credited with writing 34 episodes of The West Wing, a series often credited as one of the best of all time. Between The West Wing and her writing with the iconic medical drama Grey's Anatomy, she has been nominated for writing awards with the Primetime Emmys and the Writers Guild of America, even winning the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama for The West Wing episode "The Supremes."
All that said, it's clear that Cahn has experience with political thriller dramas and will hopefully bring that to The Diplomat. While she isn't writing every episode, she does write the first and last, so fans of the genre should be confident that the series will start and end with a bang.
While you wait for The Diplomat to arrive on Netflix, check out the top Netflix shows you can binge in one night.