A tense political thriller starring The Americans’ Keri Russell? Count us in.

Landing on Netflix later this month, The Diplomat sees Russell take on the role of Kate Wyler, an American career diplomat who has just landed a high-profile job as the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

While others might celebrate securing such a prestigious gig, Kate isn’t exactly thrilled - she’d been told that her next role would be in Afghanistan, and London doesn’t suit her.

Her new job, though, certainly won’t be boring. With war a very real possibility across multiple continents, Kate will have to form alliances and adapt to the glare that comes with her role - while dealing with the fact that her husband - and fellow ambassador - can’t seem to help himself from getting involved in her work.

Intrigued? Here’s everything we know so far about the series before it drops next week. 

What is The Diplomat all about?

The synopsis from Netflix tells us that “Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is the new US Ambassador to the United Kingdom She was supposed to go to Afghanistan. She’s great in a crisis zone. In a historic home… less so.

“War is brewing on one continent and boiling over on another. Kate will have to diffuse international crises, forge strategic alliances in London, and adjust to her new place in the spotlight - all while trying to survive her marriage to fellow career diplomat and political star Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell).”

According to the streamer, The Diplomat is “a high-stakes, contemporary political drama about the transcendence and torture of long-term relationships, between countries and people”. Want to learn more? You can watch the trailer below…

Who is the show written by?

The series is the brainchild of showrunner Debora Cahn, who has plenty of experience scripting political intrigue, having started her career as a writer on The West Wing. Since then, she has worked on series like Grey’s Anatomy and HBO’s Seventies period piece Vinyl, before serving as a writer and executive producer on the final two seasons of Homeland.

Cahn is also an executive producer on The Diplomat, along with Russell and Janice Williams.

Who is in the cast of The Diplomat?

As well as Russell and Sewell, The Diplomat stars Rory Kinnear as the British Prime Minister (who seems ever-so-slightly smarmy, given that his response to Kate telling him “it’s a pleasure to meet you” in the trailer is to say: “it’s a pleasure to be met”), alongside David Gyasi, Ali Ahn and Ato Essandoh.

Michael McKean will play the US president, joined by Nana Mensah, Miguel Sandoval, T’Nia Miller and Celia Imrie (in a TBC role).

When is The Diplomat on Netflix?

We don’t have long to wait before we can watch all six episodes in full - The Diplomat will be landing on Netflix on 20 April. We’re reserving our spot on the sofa for then… 

Images: Netflix