The Diplomat: Your Complete Guide to Netflix’s Highly-Anticipated Political Drama

In the early days of Netflix’s original programming, the company provided a glimpse into its future offerings with the release of its own high-end political drama, House of Cards. The show was captivating, skillfully produced, and featured some of the biggest names in the industry. Now, on Thursday of this week, Netflix is returning to the political drama genre with The Diplomat, a highly anticipated series starring Kerri Russell and Rufus Sewell. The series, which comprises eight episodes, was created and produced by Debora Cahn, who worked on The West Wing. Rory Kinnear and Michael McKean also star in the series. Personally, I’m particularly interested to see how The Diplomat performs, as it appears to fill a gap in Netflix’s content lineup in the same way that The Night Agent did (by serving as Netflix’s version of 24).

Debora Cahn, the creator, and showrunner of The Diplomat was also a writer/producer for the popular Showtime spy thriller Homeland. In a promotional interview for Netflix, Cahn revealed that her inspiration for The Diplomat came from her interactions with several ambassadors while working on Homeland.

The show’s central characters are Hal and Kate Wyler, a married couple. While Kate has more hands-on experience dealing with crisis regions of the world, the President wants her to take on a new and more politically charged assignment in the UK. On the other hand, Hal Wyler is a seasoned and renowned diplomat who has successfully negotiated the conclusion of several wars, although his methods have also earned him numerous adversaries. It goes without saying that taking a backseat to his wife is not something that comes naturally to him.