Fans of Netflix’s The Diplomat, get ready: The upcoming third season of the show “flips over the chessboard,” with a major shakeup in store for viewers.
That’s the rather dramatic language that creator, showrunner, and executive producer Debora Cahn uses to describe what’s coming next for Netflix’s Keri Russell-led political thriller, in which she plays the razor-sharp, no-nonsense US ambassador to the UK. Russell’s Kate Wyler is yet another iconic character that the actress will be remembered for, one whose quick wit and unfiltered bluntness make navigating international crises in the series as exhilarating as it is explosive.
Draped in power suits and a perpetual state of exhaustion, Wyler juggles high-stakes diplomacy amid the chaos of her crumbling marriage, proving that saving the world and managing personal disasters often go hand in hand.
By way of further teasing fans of what I’ve argued is one of the best Netflix shows in years, Cahn adds in an interview with the streamer’s Tudum site that in the new season (coming later this year, the specific date still to be announced): “Kate lives the particular nightmare that is getting what you want.” To further tempt fans of the show ahead of its third season, Netflix also shared some first-look images today that underscore something I can’t wait for.
Season 3 of The Diplomat is actually shaping up to be a kind of mini reunion of The West Wing. That’s on account of the fact that the cast includes Allison Janney (who’s now the president in the show), with Bradley Whitford joining the cast this season as her character’s husband. Plus, Cahn herself was a writer and producer for the classic NBC political drama.
There are, of course, other similarities between these two very fine shows, such as the Sorkin-esque dialogue that makes The Diplomat so entertaining to watch. The show also has the same kind of rapid-fire, walk-and-talk scenes that we loved in The West Wing and which underscore the urgency of political maneuvering. I’d also go so far as to argue that Kate Wyler is a lot like President Bartlet in terms of her idealism and frustration with the necessity of political gamesmanship.
In terms of what we can expect plot-wise from Season 3 of The Diplomat: Basically, everything’s about to change.
Janney’s Vice President Grace Penn, remember, instigated some mischief that took up basically all of Season 2 to deal with. Kate’s former diplomat husband Hal calls President Rayburn (Michael McKean) directly and gives him the details, which upsets the commander in chief so much that he just, ah, dies. The last thing we saw before the season’s final credits rolled is a swarm of agents making a beeline for the vice president — who, we should add, knows that Kate knows what she did.
Season 3 will no doubt be filled with lots of tension between the two women that you could cut with a knife. Which is to say: This is sure to be the best season yet for a Netflix drama that deserves all the praise it gets, and then some.
