The Diplomat

An addictive lovebaby of Homeland and West Wing with most of the problems with implausibility (the former) or dated chauvinism (the latter) of those shows healed. Deborah Cahn wrote most of my favorite episodes of the West Wing and her showrunning her own show is a massive win for my entertainment. It’ll be a long wait for season 3!

Very good. Great, until the last episode where the writing suddenly abandons the very carefully calibrated arcs. It feels like the show suddenly lost an episode or two. Really weird.

Season 1: 80, Season 2: 70, Season 3: 75

S1: 65 | S2: 70 | S3: 70

Keri Russell is amazing in this, and all of the cast is great

Terrific entertainment--smart, well-written, and briskly-paced. The whole cast is good, but casting Rory Kinnear as the sarcastic asshole PM is genius: he is such a likable actor that you wait for the next rude-as-fuck thing to come out of his mouth with relish. And then, to top even that, the wonderful Allison Janney shows up as the Vice President for the last 2 episodes of Season 2, presumably to be continued in S3 (they certainly do milk the cliffhanger thing...).

Clever writing, attention to the nerdy details of diplomatic intrigue (with some leeway for dramatic license), great casting, and a charismatically smart, funny, vulnerable Keri Russell make this worth a watch.

I enjoyed the first season, but didn't give it my full attention! I liked that it doesn't treat the audience like they can't follow the plot (like Designated Survivor and Madam Secretary), but also doesn't beat them over the head with plot beats (like West Wing and House of Cards).

Keri Russell is incredible in this show. Story wise, I think the overall concept is great, but some of the political aspects don't quite pull me in as much as they might have hoped. The first season ended in a way that left me wanting more though, so I can't wait for season 2! EDIT: Season 2 was even better than the first!