The Diplomat Series Season 1 Review

Welcome to London Politics in the 21^st century is a tiresome and cutthroat rat race, especially in the USA – the largest democracy in the world. Politics, to those who are not truly aware, is an interesting topic of discussion because politicians’ actions have ramifications on everyone’s lives. It is no surprise to find that political thrillers are gripping and exciting to viewers on all media platforms as they are generally based on personal or public lives of politician’s past and present. The latest political thrill is The Diplomat Series which debuted on Netflix on 20^th April 2023 with enthralling 8-episodes. The American ambassador (Keri Russell) due to be posted to Afghanistan suddenly finding herself on British soil in an emergency posting in the wake of a sudden missile attack on a British warship in Iranian waters. Caught in the middle of this political whirlwind, Kate Wyler is having a difficult time trying to balance work and personal life through this sudden posting.

The Diplomat Series – Synopsis

Kate Wyler is having the time of her life professionally and personally. She is all set to become the US ambassador in Afghanistan and following her dreams to provide relief to the war- stricken country. On the personal front, her troublesome marriage to Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) is ending and they have already decided to see a mediator to get divorced. Kate and Hal have a love-hate relationship due to their varied personalities and unfortunate dependence on one another having worked in politics since the start of their careers.

Alas, fate has different plans in store for them when a British warship, the HMS Courageous is hit by an unidentified missile in Iran amid a rift in relations between the US and Iran. In the wake of the warship attack, Kate is ordered by US President, William Rayburn (Michael McKean) and White House Chief of Staff, Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah) to move to London as a strong diplomatic presence is necessary to diffuse the tension:

“The President of the United States is asking you to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom. We have a plane waiting. We would like you to get on it.”

The hidden rationale in The Diplomat Series for sending Kate to London is to ascertain if she can deal with the rigors of the Vice Presidency. Considering the abrupt departure of the current Vice – President, the White House understands that her replacement will not be subject to polls but needs to be competent in self – presentation, negotiation skills, diplomacy, and strong interpersonal skills especially in his / her relationship with the President to ensure long term political sustainability.

Billie requests Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh), who is the deputy chief of mission in London to oversee Kate. Billie and Stuart have a rich history of having worked on presidential campaigns together before Stuart decided to join foreign services and move to London which explains why Billie trusts him to assist. Supervision of Kate is necessary in this case given the fact that five Vice – Presidents have previously served in UK based diplomatic positions. Furthermore, prior ambassadors in the UK have mostly secured this position by making significant donations to the government and then moving to London to simply enjoy life living in Winfield House in Regents Park in the middle of London city and not in The Diplomat Apartments which are miniscule compared to such expansive properties. The matter-of-fact dialogues describing the change required are most entertaining:

“They’ve been hosting garden parties for 50 years. The President is asking you to take it up a notch”.

Personality wise however, Kate is anything but ready to handle the position of Vice – President. She is far from diplomatic, with a general preference to explain situations and offer advice in a direct manner. She loathes dressing up, choosing to wear black suits most of the time and is seldom seen in functions let alone being dolled up. However, her negotiation skills in a crisis are exemplary. As far as political sustainability is concerned my feelings of Kate becoming a future Vice – President are akin to qualities displayed in “Nixon the Diplomat.” Richard Nixon served as Vice – President to Dwight D. Eisenhower and subsequently became President from 1969 to 1974. He was unable to maintain his position during his second term in office due to the Watergate Scandal. However, nobody could match his diplomatic skills in foreign relations, known for his historic visit to China in 1972. In the same year, he concluded the Anti – Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia, contributing to a thaw in the Cold War.

Kate’s first day in the office came as a rude shock when she finds out that her direct report Secretary of State, Miguel Ganon (Miguel Sandoval) wants to fire her. Her induction in the embassy is delayed at the stealthy request of Ganon to CIA station chief Eidra Park (Ali Ahn). The undercurrent stems from the seething rivalry between Hal and Ganon; with Hal calling him a War Criminal to his face. The Diplomat Series reflects on how Hal influences Kate’s professional life by showing his one upmanship which throws her headlong into the brewing diplomatic crisis even before she is sworn in. This cat and mouse game occurs throughout the 8-episodes of The Diplomat Series where Hal maneuvers his way around central characters such as President William Rayburn, Miguel Ganon, Billie Appiah, Stuart Hayford, Eidra Park, UK Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi) and UK PM Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) to ensure all concerned parties are dependent on both him and Kate.

Background Info.

The Diplomat Series casts an in-depth look at the professional and personal lives of selected people in American politics. The show is receiving much adulation from foreign service staff in the US and UK as the series is based on the intricate relationship between these countries. The major adulation that The Diplomat Series has received stems from how the show’s producers: Keri Russell (our lead protagonist) and, Deborah Cahn (written and produced political programs like The West Wing and Homeland), took special permission from the concerned countries to film on government locations.  The location which required extra special permission for filming was the foreign secretary’s office. Another special location was the ambassador’s residence: Winfield House at Regents Park which is as prestigious as filming in The Diplomat Palm Springs. Government jargon which is generally unheard of among laymen was used to a fair extent such as RSO – Regional Security Officer who handles security in government services in times of an emergency. Furthermore, The Diplomat Series has paid special attention to Intelligence agencies with a major focus on how the CIA functions in the UK and how transparently they deal with their US counterparts through information sharing in MI5, GCHQ, and several other agencies. Understanding of foreign relations protocol is of utmost importance to understand The Diplomat Series, therefore I am dedicating this section to educate political dummies on the duties of the following roles:

Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is a crucial position in the United States executive branch responsible for advising the President on foreign policy matters. This role has remained vital since the Department of State was established in 1789 by Congress to succeed the Department of Foreign Affairs. Today, the Secretary of State carries out complex duties, including negotiating with foreign governments, issuing passports to American citizens, and advising the President on diplomatic appointments. Other responsibilities of the Secretary of State include representing the United States in international organizations and ensuring the protection of American citizens and interests abroad. The Secretary also administers the Department of State and supervises the Foreign Service of the United States. Furthermore, the Secretary retains some domestic duties that Congress entrusted to the Department of State in 1789, including custody of the Great Seal of the United States.

Vice – President

On the other hand, the Vice President of the United States is a significant executive branch position, best known for being next in line to the presidency should the President become incapacitated or impeached. Constitutionally, the Vice President’s primary duty is to preside over the Senate, but they only vote in the case of a tie.

Aside from these formal duties, the Vice President has many visible, informal responsibilities. These include representing the President at public events, carrying out ceremonial duties, advising the President, and meeting with foreign leaders. Vice presidential candidates run alongside presidential candidates on a joint ticket, and the Presidential candidate typically chooses their own running mate.

Jet setting Hal  

The incident that changed their life occurred when Hal and Kate were posted to Afghanistan in the fight against terror. The night before the Taliban went on to capture Kabul, Hal decided to become a hero by intervening and convincing the Taliban to hold off the seizure of Kabul by one day. He did this by commandeering a flight which was initially meant for 322 Afghans who worked for U.S. forces to be repatriated to the US. This was a big humanitarian cost given the fact that the US government had sworn to protect Afghan lives before entering the country. When the news about this got back to the White House, it garnered mixed reactions from Hal’s enemies which resulted in Hal getting side-lined by his seniors. Hal did not take this adverse reaction too well as he noticed Kate gaining popularity and realized that taking a backseat would not get him anywhere.

Woman Power

Like the saying goes, “Behind every successful man, is a supportive woman.” After this incident, roles were interchanged wherein Hal became the supportive woman and Kate became the Man. Ganon became jealous and tried to get Kate fired on her first day when he noticed that she was gaining popularity through Hal’s backing when he discovered that she had a private audience with PM Nicol Trowbridge, Austin Dennison and was included in clandestine negotiations involving PM Trowbridge and President Rayburn on her first day.

Allow the eyes do the talking

I found that facial expressions of our protagonists were expressive where the eyes did most of the talking. The first being in the opening scene of The Diplomat Series when Kate was packing for her move to Afghanistan, and they receive the news about the warship attack in Iran. She is called in to brief President Rayburn and Billie rather than Hal which leaves a sullen look on Hal’s face when he realizes that the White House has requested for Kate.

“Abduction”

Hal resorted to ruthless and manipulative means to get himself abducted to speak to the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Rasoul Shahin (Bijan Daneshmand). Although his intentions were to assist Kate in finding out if Iran was behind the bombing of the warship, he chose to deal with the aftermath of the “abduction” in a clandestine manner which spelt trouble for Kate and Eidra because the US and Iran do not have diplomatic ties and should not be speaking directly. After getting home, he informed Eidra that he was abducted and contacted by Shahin where he was advised that Iran was not behind the attack. However, Kate finds out that Hal contacted Shahin through another contact in Italy to find out if they knew who was behind this attack. This resulted in a reversal of intelligence making it difficult to feed into the network. This episode of The Diplomat Series is entertaining to say the least because of Kate’s theatrics when she finds out that Hal initiated contact with Shahin albeit indirectly. She has a showdown with Hal in her office where she yells at him and her staff sitting outside are left agog when they hear her comments flying.  

The Vice – Presidency

Kate gets flabbergasted when she finds out that she is being considered for Vice – Presidency. Her primary reason for not wanting this position is Hal. Her biggest complexity stems from how her superiors perceive her usefulness to them, which she achieves at crucial points from Hal’s versatile assistance. This can be exemplified based on several incidents, the first being Hal’s insistence on her meeting Margaret Roylin (Celia Imrie) in Episode 1 of The Diplomat Series. Margaret Roylin was the former and current “unofficial” advisor to PM Nicol Trowbridge. When she was ousted from the official position, political circles labelled her as part of the opposition which signaled that Kate should avoid her at all costs. Hal however secretly contacted Margaret to ensure Kate gets thrown into the diplomatic crisis straight away upon landing in London. Ganon gets antagonized when he finds out that Kate is more entrenched in the crisis compared to him all because he does not communicate much with his UK counterpart, Austin Dennison which almost costs Kate her current position. Kate undid the damage caused by this incident by generating publicity to ensure Ganon does not take advantage of her bumpy landing in London. She gingerly opts to do a British Vogue photo shoot by listening to Hal’s advice as follows:

“You need to lean into the Cinderella thing.”

The shoot pictures when listed on the Vogue website project her Cinderella image as the future of American Diplomacy in the UK.

Inner Circle

The abduction incident was a stunt pulled by Hal to emphasize his importance in the inner circle. After Hal returned home and lying about who called who, Kate is informed that President Rayburn will be visiting London and lunching with PM Trowbridge at her posh residence. On one side, Kate is trying to convince her British counterparts that Iran is not responsible for the attack. However, at the memorial service of the warship casualties PM Nicol Trowbridge makes the following explosive comment:

“Madam, if it is Tehran, I will rain hellfire on them” which goes viral.

In the wake of this incident, Kate finds the visit of President Rayburn quite untimely as it would look like both are in cahoots about holding Iran culpable for the attack. When she requests Ganon’s intervention, he refuses to assist because of his rivalry with Hal which brings the situation to crisis point. The situation is diffused by cornering President Rayburn and having a group discussion which included Kate, Hal, Billie, Stuart, and President Rayburn before PM Trowbridge’s arrival. Hal used this opportunity to explain his “abduction” and advising everyone that Iran is not responsible for the attack resulting in the re-establishment of Hal in the inner circle.

Divorce

The Diplomat Series is currently being viewed by global audiences from several walks of life as its primary focus is on interpersonal relationships between couples who work in politics. The problems Hal and Kate face are prevalent in other relationships regardless of profession. Hal attempts to make himself indispensable to Kate through this pivotal dialogue which turns Kate’s life topsy-turvy:

“Katie, the Vice – President has resigned, and they want you to replace her. You cannot be divorced.”

Having a stable and supportive spouse especially in such a volatile political platform is of utmost importance. The White House has faced several scandals such as the infamous affair of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky which strained the marriage of Bill and Hilary Clinton which fortunately remained sacrosanct. Bill Clinton’s 8 years in office were riddled with personal misdemeanours; dealing with a highly publicized lawsuit by Paula Jones accusing him of sexual misconduct before he was elected to office. Proceedings in the trial brought to light his White House affair with Monica Lewinsky. Bill Clinton was facing charges of perjury and impeachment from the US House of Representatives and underwent a 21-day trial in the Senate where he was acquitted on both accounts with Hilary Clinton standing by her husband like a rock.

What’s New about The Diplomat Series

Netflix – Tudum interviewed Debora Cahn (The West Wing, Homeland), who is the creator of The Diplomat Series. During the filming of Homeland, she chanced upon the opportunity to meet several ambassadors. Here is what she had to say:

“The Foreign Service is the first in and the last out of every disaster in the world, and nobody knows who they are or what they do.”

Debora Cahn was also inspired by the idea of couples who work together in foreign services, and the “tandem couples” who begin their careers feeling nothing but sheer passionate for serving their countries and for each other. “But 10, 15 years later, you’re in a situation where the person you love most is also somebody, you’re competing with all the time.”

The inspiration behind beginning a show like The Diplomat Season 1 was to educate audiences on the kind of life such people live. In another interview, Debora Cahn explained as follows: “They’re quiet and unassuming. Like, this woman who looks like my Aunt Ruthie—she was in the middle of a crisis involving nuclear waste and a truck driving off an icy Siberian Road and bombs dropping. Nobody knows what these people do.” Learning about such people in her journey through Homeland, inspired her to make The Diplomat Series.  

Wine and Cheese   I have always been in awe of people who lived their life in the glimmer of the public eye, be it celebrities or politicians. Bill Clinton however shattered my idealistic teenage image of how pure American Presidents are supposed to be. This proves how such people’s lives are not simple or straightforward and is something that The Diplomat Series exemplifies very well. Actors in The Diplomat Series are incredibly good looking quite to the contrary to how most foreign service agents are portrayed. The rapport each character shares with our protagonist is what makes this show a must watch with the best chemistry, quite like wine and cheese being awarded to the pairing of Kate Wyler and Austin Dennison. Their pairing highlights the cultural differences between English and American culture which brings out their physical chemistry through subtle moves smack in the middle of political emergencies. Overall, I grant The Diplomat Series a generous 4/5 rating for being an all-rounded series which viewers from all walks of life will enjoy. Kudos to the entire cast of The Diplomat Season 1 for superb character entrenchment. Having felt the manic twists and turns, I now await The Diplomat Season2 with bated breath!