'The Diplomat' Season 2 Fate Revealed at Netflix
Netflix scored another big hit with The Resident, a new political drama starring Keri Russell. The critically acclaimed series was renewed for a second season on Monday. The Diplomat was created by Grey's Anatomy veteran Debora Cahn and debuted on April 20.
The Diplomat debuted at the top of Netflix's weekly global Top 10 TV English list, the streamer said. The show racked up 57.48 million hours viewed during its first week and was in the Top 10 in 86 countries. The series also earned a 90% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Russell stars as Kate Wyler, a new U.S. ambassador to the U.K. She tries to solve international crises and create new strategic alliances from the American embassy in London. Kate is also attempting to save her marriage to another diplomat, Hal Wyler, who struggles with no longer having a job. Rufus Sewell stars as Hal. David Gyasi, Ali Ahn, Rory Kinnear, and Ato Essandoh also star in the series. Cahn, Russell, Janice Williams, and Simon Cellan Jones are executive producers. Jones, Andrew Bernstein, Liza Johnson, and Alex Graves split directing duties.
"Fans around the world are loving every minute of The Diplomat's gripping and propulsive drama, and embracing Keri Russell's powerful performance as Kate Wyler," Jinny Howe, Vice President of Drama Series at Netflix, said in a statement. "After that jaw-dropping cliffhanger, we can't wait for them to see what the amazing visionary team of Debora Cahn, Janice Williams, and Keri Russell have in store for Season 2."
Cahn is an Emmy-nominated writer who previously worked on Grey's Anatomy and The West Wing. Her other credits include Homeland, Fosse/Vernon, and Vinyl. When Netflix greenlit The Diplomat in January 2022, the streamer signed an overall deal with Cahn.
The Diplomat Season 1 ended with an explosive cliffhanger that may have caused the deaths of multiple main characters. There was also a surprise reveal of who was really behind the explosion that set the entire series into motion during the pilot.
"I wanted it to make people want more," Cahn told Netflix's Tudum blog about the finale. "I wanted to bring together all of the different dynamics of the political relationships and the personal relationships in one event that splits apart all at the same time. The essential conflict in the relationship is that these are two people [Kate and Hal Wyler] married to each other and in love with each other, who are colleagues, who were great collaborators and are sometimes great competitors."