The Diplomat Review: Masterclass in Foreign Affairs 

Career diplomat Kate Wyler finds herself in the midst of a crisis when she is given a new job as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, which she is not suited for, and that might just destroy her marriage and her future prospects. Now she must juggle diffusing an international crisis, forging strategic alliances and getting used to her place under the spotlight, all while taking care of her relationship with her fellow career diplomat husband Hal Wyler.

The Netflix series has 8 episodes, with an average runtime of 50 minutes.

-No Spoilers-

The Diplomat Review

This eight-episode series can simply be described as a diplomacy extravaganza, filled with the nitty and gritty details of foreign affairs and its intricacies. Moreover, Debora Cahn’s meticulous display of external policies and international relations manages to cross the line of quality and prevents itself from becoming an eventual slugfest.

The story is completely centred around Kate Wyler, the new ambassador of the United States to the United Kingdom, who is pulled out from her Kabul-centric job and pushed into the muddy waters of foreign relations. Initially, we are made to believe that her promotion/big-time transfer is only a diffusing move for a naval blast (that occurred as a direct response to the President’s overhyped statement) and nothing else. However, right after the first episode, it becomes quite clear that her career is headed in a completely different direction.

To make things worse (or better) her husband, Hal Wyler, the influential and leading former diplomat, accompanies her on the journey. And promises to remain only as a transitory partner, with zero interference in her job. However, his sharp and convincing nature prevents him from restricting himself and makes way for some compelling game-changing plot twists.

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The first couple of thoughts after binging this political fest, might be centred around diplomacy in general. Like how everything boils down to communication, and basically, everyone has little to no clue about their jobs (including the world leaders in this show). Moreover, The series takes a long and steady pathway, to arrive at the main point, without diluting anything in between (literally nothing).

I suppose this heavily information-guarded approach might not fit well with everyone. And would easily disappoint someone looking for a high-profile political thriller. Although, if you are a fan of some detail-centric shows, that have no time for sassy drama in between, then it might be the right fit for you.

Kate Wyler’s diplomatic hunch for doing the right thing often lands her in trouble and is also one of the biggest concerns in the show. I don’t know how much you might care about her career growth in the end, but the constant theme of delivering up to the expectations of the world leaders will keep you on the edge.

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Final Thoughts

The show takes a good amount of time to settle in and hardly cares to explain some things in the middle. Moreover, there is a brief period of time (episodes 4 and 5) where the constant jargon might sour your experience for a while. And once you get past these moments of reluctance, the final trajectory of our female protagonist will definitely make it worth the wait (or at least for some newly acquired knowledge of international relations).

You can stream The Diplomat on Netflix. Let us know your thoughts about it in the comment section below.

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