The Diplomat: Season 1 Review – Smart & Snappy Political Soap Opera

The Diplomat is a political show created for Netflix by Debora Cahn. She will be more recently known for being a writer & producer on Homeland. For this writer, she is tied to his favourite show, The West Wing. She began as a story editor before being promoted to a staff writer then a producer.

For those who enjoy their politics with a quick pace & the same snappy dialogue will feel right at home here. This series has eight episodes which is the right amount for one continuous storyline. However, the main cast of characters are possibly more important to the show; this is hard to get right but it gets the job done.

The Diplomat was released in April 2023 and is available to watch on Netflix. It has subsequently been renewed for Season 2.

If anyone’s interested in politics, David, Sean and Tim discuss in a podcast whether politics have a place in video games.

Please note that I do discuss certain story points. 

Story – Stopping War Amid Personal & Political Dilemmas

Kate Wyler is thrown into the extremely deep end of the political ocean. She becomes the US ambassador to the United Kingdom at a time when a British aircraft carrier is attacked by unknown assailants in the Persian Gulf. She quickly becomes the focal point between numerous political agencies. There are many moving parts to uncover what happened and to stave off potential movement towards war. Oh, and her husband Hal Wyler, who used to have her job, is coming along for the ride where he is certainly accustomed to making his presence known. Even against his better judgement. Also, Kate is being considered for a different role in the government: becoming Vice President of the United States.

This had me hooked from the word go. Yes, there is a lot to get through but it sets a brisk pace. Doing so, even with a lot of talking, there are certain times when it decides to relax. This allows us to notice when there are detours. Realising that the Wyler’s relationship is not plain sailing, that it is very complicated and that having Hal around could be at times counterproductive….or it could be beneficial. How well the UK chief of mission officer Stuart Hayford gets on with the CIA station chief Eidra Park. Or how well Kate gets on with UK Foreign Secretary, Austin Dennison. The show is not afraid to talk about relationships or sex.

Kate & Hal work well together….. most of the time.

Political Intrigue Is Compelling

The political intrigue itself was a combination of soap opera and realism. I can’t claim to be an expert on how these things work. However, I feel that it does enough. This doesn’t reach for the lofty moral high ground of right & wrong ala The West Wing. The scenario was at times a little stretched, even for eight episodes. However, the actual content of the episodes, along with its fast pace, felt good. There is an insight into just how much skulduggery goes on and that mishaps and miracles can happen on the slightest whim. It was always compelling to watch.

I also felt that the tone of the show felt light for a serious situation, which wasn’t a bad thing: near the beginning, Hal Wyler is “kidnapped” to be told information to relay back to his wife, highlighting the skulduggery and mishaps in one go. It was one of a few asides which kept things interesting. There were also plenty of times when either Hal or Stuart talks to Kate to explain (for our benefit) what is going on and where Kate should be next.

With the focus on realism, there is a decent amount of swearing from the cast, which I think is fine, but it isn’t for everyone. What should be more noticeable is how well they show diplomatic relations between all the countries involved and how they talk to each other; that “officially” everyone has a position… then there are back-alley meetings. Even when on the brink of war, countries send subtle hints on the internet to get picked up showing they want to talk. It’s a cool detail regarding politics.

Ambassador Kathryn Wyler performing her official duties.

Characters & Performances – Overall Solid, Occasionally Colourful

The Diplomat is essentially about Kate and Hal Wyler, played by Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell. I thought both were good but Rufus Sewell always had my attention when on screen. He could make me laugh, he got himself “involved”, he was never boring. He was likeable considering he was an underhanded schemer. Keri Russell was solid. She acted like someone finding her sea legs – a little out of her depth, scrapping to get a good result. I thought the chemistry between Keri and Rufus was good for a couple who were in trouble. There was a physical altercation which was funny.

Also good was Ato Essandoh with Ali Ahn, who were Stuart Hayford and Eidra Park. Their relationship also felt good to watch unfold, and they were separately prominent people within their field of expertise. On the British side, Rory Kinnear was the British Prime Minister who I felt was a hot-headed blowhard, thankfully not shown a lot but usually made the situation worse. I wasn’t sure how to take him, however the actor himself did the role justice. David Gyasi was Austin Dennison, the UK foreign minister who gets on well with Kate Wyler and personally, I didn’t see it. He didn’t really show a side to his personality in which I would see why she would be interested.

Nana Mensah and Michael McKeen were also involved, they were the Chief of Staff and President of the United States respectively. They’re not in it a lot, but I liked seeing them and they delivered solid performances.

There were a few others, however T’Nai Miller as Cecillia Dennison, Austin’s sister, was quite the highlight. She’s only in two episodes but was a breath of fresh air amongst all the seriousness.

Kate & Hal have an interesting relationship.

Cinematography & Sound – Excellent Music & Solid Camera Work

Music is played at intervals within the story; usually when they decide to go from one place to the other and have sweeping shots of cars going to destinations. It is decidedly orchestral, specifically string instruments and gives the show a feeling of warmth and could either be soft or urgent, depending on the situation. I liked it.

Actual cinematography was good. Fair enough, a lot of it was spent in building but it’s a political show: it’s bound to happen. I felt they did well by having them constantly move things around, have places to go. Even when the delegation must stay somewhere, they found excuses to show somewhere else: when the Prime Minister’s sister shows up at one event, she decides to show Hal Wyler around the grounds while the rest do “important” work.

One of the shows main locations: Winfield House

Editing & Pacing – Fast & Elegantly Done

Most of it is naturally shot with one camera, shots were in the usual places for conversations. I did like the sweeping shots played at intervals as mentioned and they occasionally did do different camerawork: aerial shots of people meeting, following characters as a steady cam. Shame there were few walk & talks. I felt the episodes were kept at a brisk pace; it’s naturally mostly talking but they were on the move a lot of the time. Even if the Wyler’s were talking in the same room, usually Hal would be sitting down and Kate would be constantly moving, conveying a sense of urgency. If they are all sitting down, scenes normally weren’t long affairs to keep it moving.