What if President Bartlett acted a little more like Meredith Grey?
Or, at least, the people around him. That’s the feeling of Netflix’s new political drama “The Diplomat” starring Keri Russell, and it is certainly a juicy hook around which to build a series. A mix of “The West Wing” and “Grey’s Anatomy” with the cheek of “House of Cards” (but not any of that series’ absurd plot twists), “Diplomat” is a soapy, meaty drama worth sinking your teeth into. It isn’t perhaps as lofty and ambitious as Russell’s recently completed spy drama “The Americans,” but sometimes you don’t want too much weighing down a good binge-watch.
Here’s who should watch “Diplomat” (now streaming, ★★★ out of four), and maybe who should skip it.
Watch ‘The Diplomat’ if you like ‘The West Wing,’ ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Scandal,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Russell, no stranger to international thrillers after an excellent run on FX’s “The Americans,” plays Kate Wyler, newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom stuck dealing with diplomatic chaos. She’d have an easier time, except for her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell), a fellow career diplomat recently ousted from his own ambassadorship and not accustomed to playing second fiddle to his wife. And he’s not letting the fact that he’s not employed by the U.S. government stop him from dabbling in international relations.
Between Kate and Hal’s fiery and contentious marriage, the attractive and smart staffers tat the American Embassy in London and the ever-so-charming British Foreign Secretary (David Gyasi) Kate keeps ending up in close quarters with, there’s plenty of drama (and some melodrama) in “Diplomat.” It’s the kind of addictive, pulpy drama that keeps you clicking “next episode.” Creator Debora Cahn (who, not coincidentally, has worked on both “Wing” and “Grey’s”), wisely sets the political drama on the international stage so Kate and Hal needn’t get involved in the contentious world of domestic American politics.
Russell’s Kate is a rare lead in a political thriller that is easy to root for – she is a genuinely superb foreign emissary, with smart instincts and the greater good at her heart rather than her own personal good. She is uncomfortable in high heels and expensive dresses that make up her ceremonial duties. Russell slips into the role easily, letting loose with expletives and looks of disdain that escalate with every scene.
Skip ‘The Diplomat’ if you’re expecting ‘The Americans’
Russell is undeniably one of the greatest actresses working in Hollywood right now, and her presence is likely enough to draw fans of “Americans” to “Diplomat.” But while there is spicy, addictive fun to be had in the Netflix drama, it does not reach the exquisite heights of “Americans.” “Diplomat” is less serious and shallower. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – the tongue-in-cheek tone works for it – but it isn’t likely to bowl over its audience the way a thought-provoking and devastating episode of the Soviet-spy drama could.
