The Diplomat, Netflix
The Diplomat makes it clear from the get-go that it’s going to be an all-action political thriller.
Within 30 seconds of the opening a missile strikes a UK aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. More than 20 British sailors are killed and the west suspects Iran is to blame.
The US president, believing that America is the real target, promises retribution and the British prime minister follows suit, saying he will “rain hellfire” down on Iran if it is proved to be responsible.
It may be the beginning of an international war and it also throws the plans of ambassador Kate Wyler up in the air.
She had been due to return to Kabul, Afghanistan, to represent the US and continue her passionate fight for women’s rights.
Instead, she’s summoned to the Oval Office and appointed as the new US Ambassador to the UK.
The pace of the action is relentless.
Within 24 hours, and before her diplomatic papers are even presented, Wyler (Keri Russell) has engagements with the prime minister and foreign minister and is almost sacked by her boss.
Meanwhile, she has a problematic, meddlesome husband whom she is secretly about to divorce.
Hal (Rufus Sewell) was previously a star ambassador, who is persona non grata for as yet unexplained reasons, and views himself as Wyler’s special adviser.
She partly welcomes his advice as she finds her feet in this new unfamiliar role but fears his attention-seeking style of doing business will cause trouble for her.
He seems himself as helping her stand out while also hoping to ingratiate himself with her and stave off the divorce.
His first major scheming is to align her with a far-right Tory for reasons unknown. When he tries an unannounced introduction at a public event, her chief of staff is so alarmed at the prospect of a picture of the two shaking hands that they call an emergency, as if her life is under threat, so that she can be extracted immediately.
Hal’s second trick is to reach out to a contact in the Iranian government to see if he can get his wife advance info on whether the Islamic republic was responsible for the attack on the British carrier.
This also goes spectacularly wrong when Hal is abducted from the grounds of the palatial US embassy in London (the second biggest garden in central London after Buckingham Palace apparently) by Iranian agents who lure him to a car and knock him out with a jab of a needle to the neck.
This seems a spectacularly unlikely action for an under pressure Iranian government given all Hal wanted to do was have a phone conversation.
Nonetheless, he returns with the good news straight from the Iranian minister’s mouth – it wasn’t them. Phew.
As if Hal wasn’t enough to deal with, Wyler has the irritating formalities of being an ambassador to Her Majesty’s government.
This means lots of dressing up in fine frocks, attending social events and getting her picture taken for British Vogue, when what Wyler really wants is to roll up her sleeves and achieve things.
And she will soon discover that the Vice President is about to resign and that plans have been hatched for her to be the replacement.
The Diplomat seems to be aiming for the territory of The West Wing or House of Cards but doesn’t have the script or the patience.
It feels like a series which started with a number of scenarios designed to meet audience metrics and went from there.
To be fair, it’s a reasonable watch and you’ll not find it dragging, but I don’t think this is one you’ll be raving to your friends about.
