Full spoilers of Season 3 of The Diplomat, now streaming on Netflix, ahead.
The highest praise I can give the new season of The Diplomat – Netflix’s gripping, propulsive, and often hilarious political thriller starring Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell – is that that it blends the ingredients of the best political TV shows of the past 25 years (The West Wing, Veep, and House of Cards to name a few) into something comfortingly familiar yet wholly unique.
The series follows Kate Wyler (Russell), the United States’s Ambassador to the UK, as she navigates intrigue and political turmoil in what is normally a stress-free post. When a British warship is attacked and scores of sailors are killed in Season 1, Wyler and her sometimes-estranged husband / fellow diplomat Hal (played by Sewell) are drawn into a web of life-and-death political stakes involving everyone from the British Prime Minister to the President of the United States.
Season 2’s big twist revealed that Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney in a delicious, scene-chewing performance) masterminded the attack in an effort to prevent Scotland from seceding from the UK (which would have jeopardized the United States’s ability to dock their nuclear submarines in Europe). Season 2 ends with the American president William Rayburn suddenly dying and Penn assuming office.
Season 3 begins right where Season 2 left off, with Penn elevated to the presidency and the Wylers left scrambling to figure out where they fall in the new world order. In an early twist, Kate – who in Season 1 was thrust into the role of ambassador in part as an audition to replace Penn as VP – is passed over for the job, which goes to Hal instead. Kate decides to stay in London while Hal moves to Washington, adding a literal ocean to the metaphorical one already dividing their marriage.
Russell and Sewell are the dual heartbeats of the show. Their characters are wholly unique and together consistently exhibit a portrait of a marriage under fire – often figurative, sometimes literal. Every scene they share is filled with both tension and understanding – they’re the only people in the world who truly understand each other, but most of the time they can’t stand to be in the same room, much less the same bed.
The Wylers’ relationship stands in relief to President Penn’s marriage to her husband Todd (played in a brilliant casting move by Janney’s old West Wing costar Bradley Whitford). Todd is supportive of his wife’s new role as president even as he’s left wondering how to step into the role of what he jokingly refers to as “First Lady.” Janney infuses Penn’s morally questionable motives with a sense of determination and strength that constantly drives the plot. The acting here is so good that when Janney gets to share scenes with Whitford, you completely forget they ever played affable colleagues on The West Wing.
