The Diplomat on Netflix

Is the plot good, OP?

I think so. Rufus Sewell plays her husband, a former ambassador, who causes her all kinds of grief personally and professionally.

I've watched three episodes. On paper, it's the kind of show I would like, but it's just not clicking.

All the acting is fine, but the characters as written are just not compelling enough for this to work as a character/relationship study. I like the cast for the most part.

Flip side, the diplomatic arcs just really aren't that suspenseful or feel like there's much at stake - even if there's supposed to be. The West Wing made mundane domestic policy decisions more riveting.

Agreed about her hair OP. It was stringy and greasy in 98% of the show.

It was a weird a pilot. I liked it. But it didn't know if it wanted to be more fun like Scandal (especially the ending) or something more serious like The Newsroom.

But I enjoyed it enough to want to watch the next episode.

It’s good enough but flawed.

I feel like the shenanigans involving Rufus’s refusing-to-be-tamed character make it feel like a CBS crime drama franchise, along with the “witty” banter between the couple.

I really want to like this, but the chemistry between the characters just doesn’t seem to be there. Hope it gets better.

It’s moderately entertaining but I’d have preferred it to feel more Aaron Sorkin and less Shonda Rimes. OP, you’re absolutely right about the hair and it’s not a minor complaint at all. We’re supposed to believe that this woman who has greasy and unbrushed hair (and who doesn’t give speeches) is ambassador to the UK and is on a shortlist to be the VP? And about that shortlist. It’s ludicrous. Before her surprise appointment to London she has only been the spouse of an ambassador. You don’t get to the White House without being well known to the public.

I was under the impression that she was an ambassador herself before the London appointment - generally in less glitzy locations. She was about to be appointed to the Kabul post and it seemed like she was experienced and had prior experience being an ambassador - beyond being the wife of an ambassador.

I enjoyed this review.

R9, she was about to be appointed ambassador to Afghanistan, but I think that would have been her first posting as an ambassador. She had worked in the foreign service for years.

Oh, okay. She was an experienced foreign service officer, but no chief ambassador experience. I wasn't clear.

It gets better with every episode: it's a little far fetched in terms of its realism, but some of the dialogue among the characters really is assuming that these people are very, very smart and sound like it. The witty back and forth is satisfying in the way Succession wants to be.

The CIA Station Chief (played by Ali Ahn) I thought was hilarious - her dialogue and the performance.

The greasy stringy hair was a character choice to show she is gritty, hard-hitting, not worried about the superficial (which means she shouldn't be an ambassador - diplomacy is so often about "appearances"). I thought it was a bad choice.

It surprised me when it's revealed that the CIA station chief and the tall skinny black dude from the office are fucking. Not that I'm against it; I just didn't see it coming.

R13 And I thought the dynamic between them was actually much more interesting than between Russell and Sewell.

Just finished ep 3. I’m out.

Way too talky, way too cheesy (there’s a scene between Russell and Sewell late in the ep that is cheesy beyond belief) and way too little happens.

The only B story thus far, beyond the crisis in the gulf A story, is her marriage/the VP slot.

They need a story that expands the net beyond the two of them and gives us a break.

This was what’s called a bottle ep, with everything on one set, which tells you everything you need to know about the show’s pace.

I lined the scene where the President’s Chief of Staff made the case for her as VP. I think the series is very well cast. The British Foreign Secretary is hot eye candy. Keri Russell is perfectly cast but I do mind about the hair.

It did get better and the finale makes me want to watch a season 2. But it was hard to buy that the American ambassador to Great Britain and the British foreign minister would be together in Paris without constantly being surrounded by staff.

I just finished episode 4. Some genuine intrigue. Again, the show looks good and it's okay, but it all seems a bit thin - like you can see how Netflix just churns series out. Since it's only 8 episodes, I'll continue.

A few friends highly recommended this to me, so I watched the first episode - eh. I may stick with it, but it's not exactly 'gripping'. It could be so much better and entertaining.

I understand the 'greasy hair' and 'unwashed' appearance about the Keri Russell character. My take on it is that everything happened all so fast - packing to go to the middle east the next day, and the next thing you know she's on a flight to London. Then everything is happening with what is supposed to be a two hour time frame. She never had time to 'check in' to her living quarters, unpack, relax and take a shower. It was go, go, go at a frantic pace from the beginning - and they really did capture that.

Too stereotyped, “logic” too obvious, writing too elementary, characters too one-dimensional, other than that, Okay.(good portrait of Ike, okay portrait of Churchill).

Loved it. Rufus Sewell is dreamy.

The husband was just too irritating to keep watching. Love Russell, though.

It feels like somebody in the writers' room said 'and let's have everybody swear like in Succession!'

It's entertaining, but light, and lacks suspense. B+.

I like it but would like to like it more. Have a feeling it will keep getting better, though. Love Keri!

[quote]But it didn't know if it wanted to be more fun like Scandal (especially the ending) or something more serious like The Newsroom.

R5 - that's an interesting take, because that is EXACTLY the vibe I got from the trailer and why it didn't look of interest to me. Keri Russel was fucking sensational in The Americans. Should have earned an Emmy for that role. I hope she gets to do another show as well written.

Michael McKean is a bright spot as the President. He's by turns likeable, a dick and quite funny. I am a bit surprised by that performance.

R26, did you not see him in Better Call Saul? He was brilliant.

R27, I didn't watch that one, nope. It's great to see his talent. He's very good.

McKean is a great actor, but is miscast in this. Comes off as way too much of a hothead to ever be President.

I agree.

R29 I thought his character - the way it was written and how he played it, was one of the more interesting things in show. At first the framing was that he was a Goofus (and I thought it might be a jab at Trump) - but actually I thought he was channeling Biden pretty well. Female VP he needed to get rid of, a Black chief of staff (never happen w/DJT), and in person showing be was both off the wall and much, much more clever than his goofiness would suggest. And a Brit's line, "at least we don't have off-the-wall insanity of the last guy..." was telling.

There’s never been a female White House chief of staff of any color.

Hey, fucktard!

One less cock to suck.

R31 Well, there have been chiefs of staff who are white, so that's a color.

The whole thing is fiction - there's never been a female ambassador to English who was an on-the-ground diplomat in the middle east. It's all "plausible" fiction. My point was if the McKean President was supposed to mirror history (Afghanistan fiasco, Russia invasion of Ukraine, Brexit and Scottish independence threat... lots real work references in the show) McKean was a pretty good placeholder for Biden.

I kind of thought the Chief of Staff had a Donna Brazile vibe.

I find the husband pretty entertaining. The supporting cast are all very good actors. It's not high drama, obviously, but it's engagingly entertaining.

Nothing about the fiction of this show is “plausible.” It’s like Shonda on edibles.

Is this a Shonda show?

R38 If it isn't , it sure as hell should be.

Stephen King really likes it, I may check it out

I really liked her in The Americans.

Here's the King tweet

Somewhat more sophisticated Madame Secretary. Equally as fantastical.

I'm not sure if the dialogue is quite that good, but it's a really enjoyable, engaging show... network excellent, cable very good. It doesn't stretch the bounds of credulity as far as a Shonda shit show does. This is kind of like a plausible Scandal. I wonder if Shonda is jealous.

The cast is really, really, really good... not a weak link no matter the size of the part.

R43, it’s enjoyable but plausible? Really?

R44, plausible enough. If it's not serious drama, then in my books after Shondaland if you're not shouting "oh, come on" at the screen, you're doing well. I think by the time Scandal ended every major character had committed murder and, few, if any, caught. I defend The Diplomat only as a rollicking good time that hews close enough to the facts. They didn't invent a super secret spy agency (yet.)

Renewed, which surprises me a bit. Reviews weren’t what they expected and viewer feedback is quite mixed.

Lasted about 10 minutes. Everything so clichéd. Snooty Brits and Americans like a fish out of water (even though diplomats?) And the dialogue is so stilted and unnatural. Hammy acting too. I inadvertently laughed when I saw Michael McKean was playing the President. Luckily for me Netflix has another 5 million things I can spend my time watching.

Not only is her hair greasy, she eats like an animal, too. It's nauseating.

I finally watched the first two episodes over the weekend, but then gave up.

I was actually into the tomboy things (the greasy hair, the swearing, the pit sniffing), but then they ruined it all by cleaning her up and putting her in a gown and a horse-drawn carriage and having her assistant gush, "She's like a princess!" They want her to be a gutsy tomboy but also have her have fantasy Julia Roberts moments, and that's bullshit.

Also, the wokeness was admirable, but just not very believable. One of her State department assistants at the Embassy is genderfluid and wears a man's bowtie and suit to the office? No way.

"Shonda fantasy" is a good way to put it.

If only those were the only problems with the show…

Just started this show tonight; is anyone still watching? Agree with previous posters in that I WANT to like it and the premise is good, but it just isn’t hitting something. It’s like eating something you know is supposed to be delicious but it’s void of salt or some sort of seasoning.

Her hair is all messy and dirty looking in the first few episodes which is weird. And it moves so fast that she’s doing a British Vogue shoot on what’s supposed to be her second day there before most people even know she’s been appointed.

Of course there’s the gratuitous trans character.

I finished it in two days. LOVED it. I thought the writing was great. Loved watching them drill down through the layers…it was the Iranians. No, the Russians. No the mercenary guy. And he was hired by WHO?? The husband, brilliant at strategizing but she can’t trust him. The PM pissed because the US always manages to renege right after he announces something. The dance with the Foreign Secretary. Running around putting out fires, it looks like chaos but the viewer always understands what’s going on. Fascinating and funny.

Unfortunately, I can't stand Keri Russell but I love Rufus Sewell.

I haven't taken the plunge on this show. Too Russell-centric for me. But still, Rufus...

I prefer The Aristocats.

Very enjoyable. And I still want Rufus Sewell inside me quite deeply.

I've just discovered this and am on episode 4. At the beginning I thought they had deliberately made her look so rough because they were going to give her a makeover once she got to London and discovered she was to be VP. Doesn't seem like it's going to happen. She doesn't have to look like a glamazon but she could look a hell of a lot better than she does. She obviously has a lot of control as producer.

But I'm really enjoying it. The President is hilarious. The cast is great and very diverse in a realistic way - it's not forced. It's snappy and well-written, well-acted and the scenery and sets are incredible. My only criticism is that they get a bit bogged down in detail sometimes and don't move the story along quickly enough. I'm going to watch a couple more episodes tonight. Really enjoying it so far.

You get to see him naked too R55.

Just finished the second season. It was excellent - as good, if not better than season 1. Another great cliff-hanger ending. Has anyone else watched yet?

After the final episode Netflix flashes up an announcement that season 3 is on the way.

I’ve only seen half the first episode of the 2nd season and I’m pretty lost. It starts right where the first season left off and I had forgotten the names/details. Need to read a refresher but it’s so good. The British Foreign Secretary (??) looks exactly like a young Denzel Washington.

Is there a season where Keri cuts her hair and the ratings fall in half?

R59 - I went back and rewatched the entire first season and then went straight into the second season. If you have time - try that.

What R59 said. Watching the second season and am lost. Not sure I want to rewatch the entire first season.

Finally saw the whole second series. Slow start and then it got intense real fast. I thought her husband was feeding her some bs to get her to commit to the VP job but newp. And then the ending.

I often rewatch the last episode of the previous season as a refresher before beginning the new season. The 2nd season picks up immediately where season 1 ends so it's worth doing this. No need to watch the entire first season.

I absolutely loved both seasons of The Diplomat. Both are excellent. Really looking forward to season 3.

WOW ~ Just binge-watched Season 2. Fast paced, well-written, well-acted. Give the Emmy now to Kerri Russell, Alison Janey and the producers of this great show itself.

(I, too, started by watching the last episode of S1 to be 'refreshed').