TV Review: The Diplomat Season One (2023)

The Diplomat Season One (2023) created by Debora Cahn

Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is a mid-level officer in America's diplomatic service who looks forward to serving in the Middle East where her on-the-ground skills will be put to good use. She is sidelined into becoming the ambassador to Great Britain, a role that is supposed to be mostly ceremonial, with lots of parties and photo-ops (not a place for on-the-ground skills). The only problem is a British warship in the Persian Gulf has just been hit by an enemy. The initial assessment points the finger at Iran but a much more complicated situation arises as various assets provide intel on the incident. One asset is Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), husband of Kate and a former ambassador who is now relegated to "wife-in-tow" status. He is much more politically savvy and uses it to his own advantage (not necessarily for the good of his country or his marriage). This on-going behavior of his has brought the couple to the brink of divorce. Now that the United Kingdom is on the brink of war (both the Prime Minister (Rory Kinnear) and the US President (Michael McKean) are looking to improve their domestic standings), she has to use all her skills to get to the bottom of the situation and stop war from breaking out.

While the show sounds like a political thriller, which to a large extent it is, there is a lot of comedy and interpersonal romantic drama (i.e. soap opera). I was a bit confused if they really wanted to be taken seriously, especially with a bunch of over-the-top plot twists and Kate's no-nonsense attitude constantly being undercut by her survival instinct, making her do things she otherwise would never do. For example, she does a cover story with British Vogue on what it's like to be a woman in a powerful position, a move that keeps her from getting fired from the position that she does not want. She also doesn't like dresses or being prim and proper. She does her best to fix or improve the political situation as it spirals into a more convoluted pretzel of unlikely interconnections. She constantly waffles on her desire for divorce from the completely manipulative Hal for no other reason than it makes the drama more dramatic. The show is very hard to take seriously even though it seems like it wants to be taken seriously.

Russell gives a fun performance, though Sewell's weaselly performance steals some of the scenes. The rest of the cast is good in their more or less plausible roles. The show looks like a star vehicle for Russell, after her great turn in The Americans. Even so, the tone is so uneven that I was not sure what the creators were really going for.

Just barely recommended--I was entertained and confused in equal measures.

As I write this (March 2025), the show is only available streaming on Netflix.