The Diplomat

Netflix’s *The Diplomat* follows Kate Wyler, a career diplomat who expects to take a posting in Afghanistan but is instead appointed the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom. Created by Debora Cahn, the series premiered in April 2023 with Keri Russell as Kate. Her arrival in London coincides with an attack on the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous, turning what might have been a difficult new assignment into an international crisis.

Kate must work out who attacked the ship while managing the risk that Britain or the United States will retaliate against the wrong country. The investigation draws her into meetings with British officials, intelligence agencies and the White House. She is skilled at negotiating in a crisis, but the ambassador’s public-facing duties and elaborate ceremonies are a poor fit for the job she thought she was going to do.

Her husband, Hal Wyler, played by Rufus Sewell, makes the appointment still more complicated. Hal is a former ambassador with his own diplomatic contacts and a habit of acting without Kate’s approval. Their marriage is central to the series: they understand each other’s work unusually well, yet disagree sharply about when influence becomes interference. Hal’s presence also attracts attention from officials considering Kate for a higher office.

The cast includes David Gyasi as British foreign secretary Austin Dennison, Rory Kinnear as Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge, Michael McKean as U.S. President William Rayburn, Ato Essandoh as Kate’s deputy, Stuart Hayford, and Ali Ahn as CIA station chief Eidra Park. Those characters give the carrier investigation several competing perspectives. Decisions that look straightforward from one office can carry political costs in another, and Kate frequently has to establish what her counterparts know before she can decide what to tell them.

Cahn previously worked on political dramas including *The West Wing* and *Homeland*. In *The Diplomat*, the suspense comes not only from discovering who ordered an attack, but from watching officials test intelligence, choose their words and assess how an ally might respond. The series also makes Kate’s professional future part of the plot rather than treating her ambassadorship as a settled destination.

Russell received a Primetime Emmy nomination for her performance in the first season. A second season premiered in October 2024 and introduced Allison Janney as U.S. Vice President Grace Penn, expanding the story’s focus from the London embassy to succession and power in Washington. Throughout those developments, Kate remains caught between the work she wants to do and the roles other people believe she should take.