If you’re looking for a new tv show to binge over the weekend, I would like to recommend to you that you take a look at ‘The Diplomat‘ on Netflix – one of the best political series in recent years.
‘The Diplomat’ is billed by Netflix as a “political thriller”… It isn’t. Yes, it has politics, and yes, it has thrilling moments, but if you’re expecting some dark, gritty, political drama, you’d be way off base. Tonely, it is much closer to something like ‘Succession’, and more of a satirical black comedy-drama set in a political world.
‘The Diplomat’ begins with Kate Wyler, played by Keri Russell (‘The Amercians’), a US diplomat who has spent most of her career smoothing out issues in hotspots and warzones. As she is about to head off to a new posting in one of those troubled areas of the world, there is breaking news that a UK aircraft carrier has been bombed in the Middle East. Soon after, she is summoned by the US President (played by ‘Better Call Saul’s Michael McKean) and told she is going to be the new US ambassador to the United Kingdom… Something which is usually seen as a “grace and favour” job handed to political donors so they can spend an easy few years on holiday rubbing shoulders with the British aristocracy. It’s a far cry from Kate’s usual role dodging bullets in war-torn countries, but with tensions rising between the UK, US and Iran (which is suspected of carrying out the attack), the President wants someone there who has Middle East experience, so she begrudgingly accepts.
Joining her on the appointment is her husband Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell – ‘Man in the High Castle’, ‘Victoria’, ‘Kaleidoscope’). He is charming, highly experienced, and well-known with contacts everywhere, having served as an ambassador himself… He’s also sneaky, devious, and infuriating (especially to Kate). Having been sidelined after a few comments which upset the people in power in the US government, he now finds himself in the “ambassador’s wife” role, but Kate is dubious as to whether he will stay in his lane…
When she arrives in London, Kate is expected to represent the United States at the highest levels of British society, but the whole “pomp and circumstance” is totally alien to her. Understandably and quite rightly, she resents that as a “female ambassador” she’s asked to put on a nice dress for photo ops to appease the press when all she wants to be doing is solving this crisis so she can get out of there and return to her real work helping people in conflict zones.
She does have some help to guide her, in the form of Stuart Heyford (Ato Essandoh – ‘Chicago Med’, ‘Altered Carbon’), the Deputy Chief of Mission, and CIA Station Chief, Eidra Park (Ali Ahn – ‘Billions’, ‘Raising Dion’), as they try and work out exactly what happened with the UK’s aircraft carrier, whilst navigating the upper echelons of British society.
The UK government side is led by the (somewhat Boris-like) Prime Minister, Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear – ‘Bond’ franchise, ‘Penny Dreadful’, ‘Bank of Dave’), very much a populist PM, and all that comes with that. The other main player in the series is David Gyasi’s (‘Carnival Row’, ‘Interstellar’) Austin Dennison, the UK’s very British Foreign Secretary, who is unsure how to deal with the tornado that is Kate ripping her way through standard protocol. He’s also trying to maintain control over Trowbridge, a PM that is out for revenge… whether he has the right target or not!
In addition to navigating the British political system and working out who is actually the enemy they need to go after for the aircraft carrier attack, it soon becomes apparent that the President had an ulterior motive for sending Kate to London… and a number of people in her new orbit are aware of what that plan is…
The show is both timely and relevant, exploring the complex relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom in the wake of Brexit, along with issues such as terrorism and instability in the Middle East. However, it is the relationships between the characters where the show shines.
Russell puts in an outstanding performance as Kate, perfectly balancing the exasperation of the situation she has found herself in, without coming across as some career-driven political animal. Equally, Sewell’s Hal seems effortlessly charming, whilst ever so subtlely pushing his own agenda. The duo bounce off each other brilliantly with the love/hate relationship.
The series comes from Debora Cahn, whose previous work includes ‘The West Wing’ and ‘Homeland’, and I think that background shows through here. Whilst it doesn’t have the dark grittiness of ‘Homeland’, the political deviousness is there, as is the humour and ensemble camaraderie from ‘The West Wing’. I would also say there are the dark humour elements of shows like ‘Succession’, and even a little bit of straight-up comedy from something like ‘Veep’ in there too. The writing is sharp, intelligent, and extremely funny, whilst also maintaining brilliant moments of tension and drama. It is well worth a watch.
‘The Diplomat‘ Season 1 is out now to binge-watch on Netflix UK and worldwide.
