5 Reasons Why Netflix’s The Diplomat Is One of the Best Shows of 2024

Return Netflix political thriller Diplomat one of the few TV shows streaming giant that I’m actually counting down the days since that explosive Season 1 finale. And now that it’s here – and, unsurprisingly, already dominating the top 10 on the Netflix chart in the US – I’m happy to report that not only does it live up to the standard set in the first season, but I’d go so far as to say that this season is a flop. as one of the best Netflix series of 2024.

If you’re willing to suspend a certain amount of disbelief (DiplomatAfter all, this is a drama, not a documentary) The show from creator Deborah Kahn offers quite an entertaining ride. I know I shouldn’t point out this warning, but when I see it, it sounds like This one – from a curmudgeon at Forbes who thought the ending of the new season was untrue or something – I think it’s worth pointing out the above fact again. Diplomat It’s a TV show, and a damn good one at that.

Here are five reasons why I think this is one of Netflix’s best TV releases this year. By the way, I finished the new season, so keep in mind: there is *spoilers* upcoming.

The Diplomat feels like a cross between Homeland and The West Wing.

DiplomatRussia’s Impact ranks among the greatest political TV shows of our time, and for good reason. Kang actually cut her teeth, wait, both Motherland And West wing. That is: if you were a fan of both shows, season two Diplomat must be especially to your liking.

Image source: Netflix

This season’s story, in which American ambassador to Britain Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) tries to get to the bottom of what looks like a deadly false flag attack, makes the show feel like a spy thriller hidden in a walk and talk. Political drama in style. Allison Janney’s VP Grace Penn – the VP who is actually being groomed to replace Kate thanks to her position in London – also meets up with the pond for a very dramatic visit with Kate.

In short, there is a reason why both audiences and critics appreciated Diplomatin the new season this time higher.

The secondary characters are no less interesting than the main cast.

Another reason for the mostly positive reaction to the new season Diplomat I think this has to do with the interesting supporting characters – all of whom are perfectly cast and who have no problem keeping your interest when the show’s main characters are busy doing something else.

I could watch Russell’s Kate and Ali Ahn’s CIA station chief Aidra Park all day. Park, in fact, is such a model of unwavering competence that I wish she were an intelligence professional in real life. Rory Kinnear’s arrogant British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge is a cyclone of impulsiveness, and Kinnear plays him as such a live wire that you have no trouble believing he’s responsible for the false flag attack on a British ship that Kate is investigating. – an attack that also ties into the London bombing at the end of the first season.

Other enjoyable supporting characters include Deputy Chief of Mission Ato Essandoh Stuart Hayford, Kate’s trusted subordinate who spends the first few episodes of this season recovering from the explosion that left him injured, and Kate’s husband Hal (Rufus Sewell). An extremely likable character, Stuart is also Aidra’s romantic interest – a couple you can’t help but root for.

This season has pulled big fake head

Above I mentioned the false flag attack, which is especially important to the plot of this season. I know I’m not the only one who was somewhat convinced that Trowbridge was up to no good and almost certainly had something to hide – it turns out it was actually rogue elements in his government who wanted to give Britain a “unifying event”. ” in the form of an attack, they could blame Russia to stop the movement of Scotland wanting to secede from the empire. The Prime Minister didn’t know thing about this, contrary to Kate’s suspicions.

Conservative Party operative Margaret Roelin, a confidante of Trowbridge, is in fact the one who came up with the idea of ​​a false flag attack to rally the country behind the Prime Minister. She recruited two far-right members of parliament into the scheme. But, as it turned out, the idea did not work. arise with the treacherous Roylin. The idea for the plan actually came from…

ALISON JANNEY!!!

That’s true. Not only is Jenny’s presence a welcome addition to the show’s second season. Diplomatbut this season she makes good use of her meager screen time, stealing scenes and being a low-key troublemaker.

In the role of Vice President Grace Penn, Jenny’s portrayal has all the seriousness West wing fans loved it. However, here she plays not a White House press secretary, but a vice president who is on the verge of being fired due to a scandal involving her husband. Kate, as we’ve already noted, is her potential replacement in the White House, which makes Grace’s post-bombing visit to London even more awkward.

Grace is called upon to strengthen the alliance and gently guide Britain’s response to a suspected Russian attack. Kate, however, eventually realizes that it was actually Madame Vice President who set this all in motion, but our favorite diplomat gets more than she bargained for when she stands up to Grace.

The latter, who responds to Kate’s accusation by using a large world map as a prop, somewhat condescendingly points out to the ambassador that all sorts of bad things will follow when Scotland separates from Great Britain. This democracy is actually going out of fashion around the world, and maintaining world order sometimes requires making difficult decisions.

And that brings us to the shocking season finale.

exciting moment

Season 1 Diplomat struck in the final episode, with an explosion that left the fates of several characters up in the air, but season two took things to a whole new level with its final episode.

Basically, Kate and Grace go for a walk while Hal desperately tries to contact his wife on the phone. It turns out that Hal—a seasoned former diplomat himself—contacted the President of the United States and told him that it was Grace who was actually planning the false flag attack. At this point, POTUS suffers a heart attack due to the shocking news and dies on the spot. The last thing we see before the credits roll is an army of security personnel madly rushing at Grace, who is now the default president, while a stunned Kate has just told her husband what happened.

Was it some kind of over-the-top, outlandish ending? Certainly. I’m dying to see what happens next? Obviously! In my opinion, Diplomat is up there with some of the best Netflix series of the last couple of years, and season three is going to be quite a journey. Among my final thoughts:

Will Grace, as President, appoint Kate as her Vice President – something to keep enemies closer? This would be a great turn of events, although it would also kind of undermine the show’s title. This will also lead to an even more juicy sequence of events if the scandal with Grace’s husband still breaks out, Grace will have to leave her post and… Kate will move into the Oval Office?

If I had to bet, I suspect Grace would name Kate the new Secretary of State. This show is called Diplomatafter everything.