The Diplomat on Netflix takes us into the high-stakes world of international diplomacy and stars Keri Russell as a career diplomat Kate Wyler who lands a high-profile job she doesn’t want — US Ambassador to Britain — right in the middle of a worldwide crisis!
The eight-part series arriving in Spring 2023 is created by showrunner Debora Cahn, who’s no stranger to political thrillers thanks to her work on Homeland and The West Wing. Set in the US London embassy, the tense drama also stars a host of British actors, including David Gyasi, Rufus Sewell, Celia Imrie and Rory Kinnear.
From the writer of Homeland and The West Wing, here’s everything we know about The Diplomat on Netflix…
The Diplomat on Netflix release date
The Diplomat will launch globally on Netflix on Thursday 20 April 2023 with eight hour-long episodes arriving as a box-set.
Is there a trailer for The Diplomat?
Yes a trailer for The Diplomat has landed and it's great to see US Ambassador Katharine Wyler making waves in Britain and meeting Rory Kinnear's British Prime Minister. Take a look below...
The Diplomat plot
The Diplomat follows Katherine Wyler, the newly appointed US ambassador to the United Kingdom, who was hoping to be sent to Afghanistan rather than London. But as threats of war continue to bubble over across the world, Kate must diffuse international crises, forge strategic alliances, and adjust to her new life in the UK. Yet her new career also puts pressure on her long-term marriage to fellow diplomat Hal Wyler, a former ambassador who has since been reduced to the sidelines. He's dying to interfere and tensions erupt! Then a big crisis happens in the Persian Gulf and it all kicks off...
The Diplomat cast — Keri Russell as Kate Wyler
Leading The Diplomat cast is Keri Russell plays career diplomat Katherine Wyler, who lands the job of US ambassador to the UK, which she neither wants nor believes she’s suited for.
Keri, 46, won a Golden Globe for playing Elizabeth Jennings in The Americans, having previously played Felicity Porter in Felicity Was Here. She’s also appeared in movies such as Mission: Impossible III, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the recent comedy horror Cocaine Bear.
Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler
Rufus Sewell plays Kate’s husband, Hal Wyler, himself a brilliant diplomat. The 55-year-old is best known for his TV roles in The Man in the High Castle and ITV period drama Victoria, while on film he’s appeared in The Legend of Zorro, The Holiday, Judy and The Father.
Who else is starring in The Diplomat?
The Diplomat also stars Rory Kinnear (Ridley Road) as foul-mouthed and tetchy British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge, while Michael McKean plays President William Rayburn, Nana Mensah is his White House Chief of Staff Billie Appiah and Miguel Ganon is the US secretary of state Miguel Sandoval. Ato Essandoh plays Stuart Hayford who is Kate’s deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in London, David Gyasi (Carnival Row) plays the British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison, while Ali Ahn is Eidra Park is the chief of the CIA station in London, one of the largest CIA hubs in the world and who manages the very close and complicated relationship between the CIA and MI6. Look out for Celia Imrie making a guest appearance too.
Behind the scenes, locations and more about Netflix drama The Diplomat
The Diplomat was filmed on location in the UK in Londong and the Cotswolds plus Paris, France. The showrunner is Debora Cahn (see below) while executive producers are Janice Williams, Keri Russell, Simon Cellan Jones (Episodes 101-102) and the producer is Dan Toland.
* Here's an interview below with Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell talking all things The Diplomat...
Debora Cahn on creating The Diplomat for Netflix
"The Diplomat is a show about the transcendence and torture of long-term relationships,’ says showrunner Debora Cahn. "It’s hard to keep a relationship going, be it a marriage or a military alliance. We change, the world changes, and yet we want these relationships to go on forever.
"It’s a show about a bunch of good people doing their best to keep their global and personal partnerships intact without killing each other. In the world of diplomacy, you’re dealing with a lot of rule-bound, protocol-driven behaviour, but underneath all that, these are people who sweat, and spill coffee on their clothes, and forget the name of the person they’re talking to. All of that is always bubbling under the grandeur and majesty of working with heads of state."
