The Diplomat (American TV series)

The Diplomat is an American political thriller television series created by Debora Cahn. It premiered on Netflix on April 20, 2023. In May 2023 it was renewed for a second season. Keri Russell was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Premise
The series centers on Kate Wyler, the new United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, as she helps to defuse an international crisis, forges strategic alliances and adjusts to her new place in the spotlight. She also manages her deteriorating marriage to fellow career diplomat Hal Wyler.

Main

 * Keri Russell as Katherine "Kate" Wyler, newly appointed US ambassador to the UK
 * Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler, Kate's husband and former US ambassador to Lebanon, who struggles with his lack of a posting
 * David Gyasi as Austin Dennison, UK Foreign Secretary
 * Ali Ahn as Eidra Park, CIA station chief
 * Rory Kinnear as Nicol Trowbridge, UK prime minister
 * Ato Essandoh as Stuart Hayford, deputy chief of mission of the US embassy in London

Recurring

 * Celia Imrie as Margaret Roylin, a former campaign manager of the Conservative Party
 * Miguel Sandoval as Miguel Ganon, United States Secretary of State
 * Nana Mensah as Billie Appiah, White House Chief of Staff
 * Michael McKean as William Rayburn, President of the United States
 * T'Nia Miller as Cecilia Dennison, Austin Dennison's sister
 * Allison Janney as US Vice President Grace Penn (season 2)

Supporting

 * Pearl Mackie as Alysse
 * Penny Downie as Frances Munning, Winfield House Residence Manager
 * Christine Kavanagh as Gwen Hempill, UK Foreign Affairs Representative
 * Jess Chanliau as Ronnie Buckhurst, U.S. Embassy in London, UK
 * Anna Francolini as Pippa
 * Richard Dillane as Tom Libby
 * Rupert Vansittart as Julian Hoope
 * David Bark-Jones as Alistair Kemper-Whaite
 * Simon Chandler as Sir Merritt Grove MP
 * Bhav Joshi as Anu Kapoor
 * Bijan Daneshmand as Rasoul Shahin, Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Adam Silver as Howard
 * Georgie Henley as Pensy
 * Joey Eden as Dan
 * Reza Diako as Basir
 * Sharif Dorani as Parham Najjar, Iranian Ambassador to the United Kingdom
 * Dana Haqjoo as Farid Namazi, Iranian Ambassador to the UK Deputy
 * John Schwab as Roger Post
 * Micky Sébastian as Brielle Fournier, French Minister of the Interior

Production
In January 2022, Netflix announced it had given a series order to The Diplomat from creator Debora Cahn. In February of that year, it was announced Keri Russell would star in the series. In March, it was announced Ali Ahn and Rufus Sewell joined the cast. In April 2022, David Gyasi, Ato Essandoh, Rory Kinnear, Miguel Sandoval, Nana Mensah, Michael McKean, Celia Imrie and Penny Downie joined the cast. The series was released on April 20, 2023.

Filming took place at a range of locations in the UK. In London, producers obtained permission to film inside the American embassy in Nine Elms, and the Foreign Office in Westminster, including The Durbar Court and the Foreign Secretary's office. Outside of London, Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire doubled as Winfield House, the residence of the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom while Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire was used to represent Chevening the foreign secretary's country residence in Kent. Filming also took place at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Cotswold Airport, Gloucestershire, and The Louvre in Paris. A number of scenes were filmed within London North Studios, located in Mill Hill, North West London, where sets for The Oval Office and US Embassy are located.

On May 1, 2023, Netflix renewed the series for a second season. Filming for season 2 began in June 2023 with locations including St Paul's Cathedral. In January 2024, it was announced that Allison Janney had been cast as US Vice President Grace Penn for season two.

Title conflict
The choice of title reportedly caused frustration among the British producers of a Barcelona-set series also titled The Diplomat, which was announced in early 2020 and began airing in the UK two months before the Netflix series. Neither party has indicated a willingness to change the title to avoid confusion.

Critical response
Rotten Tomatoes reported an 83% approval rating with an average rating of 7.8/10 based on 53 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Keri Russell's scrappy performance negotiates the best possible terms for The Diplomat, a soapy take on statecraft that manages to make geopolitical crises highly bingeable entertainment." Metacritic assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Julian Borger wrote in The Guardian that there "is a fair amount to be incredulous about", with Netflix having "taken a lot of liberties to keep The Diplomat racing along like a thriller." However, "for all the dramatic licence taken with the plot and characters", the producers "made sure they got at least some of the details absolutely right." He argued that "most current and former diplomats were ready to overlook the impurities" and were appreciative that diplomacy was being "given its moment under the bright lights." Nevertheless, Borger noted that some felt that the series was a "missed opportunity" that "carries on a long tradition of shows that put a foreign policy focus in the title, and then veer completely off into something that has nothing or little to do with actual diplomacy."

The Evening Standard described the first series as "an interesting take on the time-honoured political drama" that "doesn’t reach the lofty heights of The West Wing but "does have a refreshing lack of the moral high ground." The Radio Times was more critical, calling it a "simplistic, bland, and easily digestible political drama" that "isn't particularly thrilling or complex" and "never feels particularly high stakes."

Meanwhile, the Financial Times lamented that the series "spurns the opportunity to provide a considered look at international relations in favour of a generic and improbably-plotted yarn" and "lacks delicacy and nuance." The paper described it as "so exaggerated that it has little to say about actual statecraft and so dry and insistently talky that it struggles to entertain."

Viewership
The show featured in the global Netflix top 10s for four weeks picking up 173.46 million hours watched. The series featured in the Nielsen top 10 charts for two weeks in the US picking up 44.90 million hours watched.