"The West Wing" and "Homeland" author Deborah Kahn returns with another political thriller. Netflix's "The Diplomat" stars Keri Russell as a career diplomat who finds a high-profile job in the midst of an international crisis for which she is terribly ill-suited. Kate Wheeler (Russell) is supposed to be deployed to Afghanistan, but instead finds herself as the new U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, tasked with building strategic alliances in London and dealing with a brewing international conflict—all while trying to Survive her marriage to Hal (Rufus Sewell), a diplomat and politician.
Deadline reports that the series has been given an eight-episode order, so it was initially unclear whether The Diplomat would get a second season. But Kahn did recently sign a multi-year overall deal with Netflix, giving fans hope for a second season. “I’ve witnessed firsthand Deb’s incredible work on series like ‘The West Wing ,’” said Jinny Howe, vice president of series development at Netflix. "She knows how to tell a great story with character depth, risk and surprise, all of which she will bring to The Diplomat . We're excited to welcome Deb to Netflix."
Kahn has plenty of material to draw from for future seasons. She told Vanity Fair that she first came up with the premise for the Netflix show while working on Homeland , when she met the real-life female ambassador . "They were quiet and unassuming. Like, this woman who looked like my Aunt Ruth - she was in the middle of a crisis involving nuclear waste, a truck driving off an icy Siberian road and bombs being dropped, ” she explained. "No one knows what these people are doing. It's a frontline activity, but no one knows."
Fortunately, Netflix announced on May 1 that the second season of "The Diplomat" will be officially launched. "After the jaw-dropping suspense, we can't wait for them to see the stunning, visionary cast of Deborah Kahn, Janice Williams, and Keri Russell team’s performance in season two,” Howe said in a press release.
Here's everything else we know about season 2.
Potential premiere date for 'The Diplomat' season 2
Netflix shows tend to take at least a year between seasons. Given this, we can assume that the second season will premiere in the spring or summer of 2024.
The Diplomat Season 2 Plot
The Diplomat stars Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, David Gyasi, Ari Ahn, Rory Kinnear and Atto Essando. The series also guest stars Celia Imrie, Michael McKean, Nana Mensah, Tinia Miller and Miguel Sandoval.
Russell admitted to Vanity Fair that after six seasons on FX's "The Americans," she initially had no plans to take on another TV show. "I definitely don't want to do another series," Russell said. "[But] I just couldn't stop thinking about it. So I thought, 'This is impossible — but I'm going to do it.'"
Russell seemed to be giving it his all today. She even moved her family across the pond from New York before the second season was announced. “Whenever the show starts, I always say, ‘Just watch a few more episodes!’ That’s how I feel about ‘The Americans’ too — the first episode, we’re like, ‘What is this? "Then you get it. So I hope people stick around for a few more episodes because it gets better."
This article will be updated as more information about The Diplomat Season 2 becomes available .
