If you’ve been looking for a new series to binge watch, look no further than THE DIPLOMAT, which dropped on Netflix back in April. Its eight episodes focus on Katherine “Kate” Wyler (Keri Russell, COCAINE BEAR; TV’s THE AMERICANS), the wife of former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell, THE FATHER; HERCULES), who is suddenly appointed as the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom (or, more formally, the Ambassador of the United States to the Court of St. James’s). While you and I might think that’s a plum job given to a career diplomat who is close to retirement, or to someone who helps the sitting president win key votes in his election or donates gobs of cash to his campaign, Kate’s appointment is anything but that. The vice president is about to be embroiled in scandal and will need to resign. President Rayburn (Michael McKean, THIS IS SPINAL TAP; TV’s BETTER CALL SAUL) is looking at Kate as the veep’s replacement and the ambassadorship is a way in. However, no sooner does Kate land in London than the UK’s aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf gets attacked, killing 41 on board. Iran looks like the likely culprit and UK Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear, NO TIME TO DIE; TRESPASS AGAINST US) wants swift and punishing retaliation but the US’ intelligence seems to be pointing to someone else. Now Kate has to move mountains in a hurry in order to avoid another war getting started. While she’s doing that, other characters are busy moving their pieces on the chessboard around and not all of them are in sync with Kate’s activities.

THE DIPLOMAT is exciting television! It’s full of political walk-and-talk, much like THE WEST WING was, which is not surprising as series creator Debora Cahn was a writer and producer on the popular series for four seasons. Cahn also wrote and executive produced for HBO’s HOMELAND for two seasons, and wrote and produced TV’s GREY’S ANATOMY for eight seasons, which would explain why THE DIPLOMAT’s steamy undertone is done so well too.

The binational cast is fabulous, and it’s refreshing to see such diversity on screen too. The American DCM (deputy chief of mission), the White House Chief of Staff and the UK’s Foreign Secretary are all Black, the CIA’s London station chief is Korean-American, the US’ Secretary of State is Hispanic and the ambassador’s aide is non-binary. At its core, though, are the performances by Russell and Sewell, who have great on-screen chemistry together. Their two characters have an interesting dynamic (I won’t ruin it if you don’t already know), which not only drives much of the plot but adds some welcome humour into the show, although it’s often at Kate’s expense. I’ll just say that Hal is one of the many challenges that Kate has to deal with on a daily basis.

The season ends off on a wicked cliffhanger with important information about the attack coming to light and a few characters’ fates hanging in the balance. The show has already been greenlit for a second season, which was expected to come out at the end of 2024 but with the writers’ strike dragging on now, who knows when it will land. When it does, it will no doubt focus on that new piece of information and on Kate’s impending promotion to Washington.

THE DIPLOMAT is streaming now on Netflix. If you loved THE WEST WING, you’ll love this series too. It’s top-notch entertainment that’s sure to win a few Emmys next year… assuming the writers’ strike will be over by then. Sigh!

Thanks for reading but don’t be a lurker! If you liked what you just read, here are some suggestions:

Sign up to receive my movie reviews in your inbox automatically
Share this review on your Facebook page
Leave me a message telling me what you thought of my review or the film
Bookmark the site and visit often
Like my Howard For Film Facebook page
Watch my reviews on my YouTube page
Check out my Howard For Film magazine on Flipboard
Tell your friends about the site