On Screen: “The Diplomat: Season 2”
The Diplomat: Season 2
If you’re like me, you wait until the entire season is streaming before watching many episodic television shows — like “The Diplomat: Season 2,” a political thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat — from beginning to shocking conclusion.
Don’t let anyone tell you what happens!
First, let’s recognize showrunner-writer Debora Cahn (“The West Wing,” Grey’s Anatomy,” “Homeland”) whose ingenuity and imagination knows no bounds. Cahn created the character of intelligent, outspoken, fashion-phobic career diplomat Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) who reluctantly left her pivotal post in Kabul to become U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James (England).
Second, let’s laud versatile Keri Russell, acclaimed as teenage “Felicity,” then “The Americans,” in which she played a 1980s Soviet spy. Now her Kate Wyler becomes intimately involved in a game of geopolitical chess, the outcome of which could affect the fate of the free world.
An international crisis has erupted with an attack on a British warship, involving Russia, Iran and the United States. The twisty storyline is complex; it’s often hard to decipher the intricate plot involving London politician Margaret Roylin (Celia Imrie), Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear), Foreign Minister Austin Dennison (David Gyasias), along with Kate’s crew: Stuart Heyford (Ato Essandohl) and Eidra Pak (Ali Ahn).
Concurrently, Kate’s under consideration by U.S. President William Rayburn (Michael McKeon) to replace contentious Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney), whose reputation is under scrutiny because of a brewing scandal.
Then there’s Kate’s clever, conniving husband Hal Wyler (charismatic Rufus Sewell), a former ambassador who ruffled too many feathers in the Middle East.
Kate once considered divorcing Hal because he made immoral deals that were deadly for a few in order to save the many. Now they know they need one another and have each other’s backs, no matter what choices and mistakes they make.
Time and resource limitations, along with production delays, shortened Season 2 to just six episodes but — with Season 3 — things will only get more complicated.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Diplomat: Season 2” is a tension-filled 10, streaming on Netflix.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.
During her adult life, Susan has been on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie and drama critic, syndicating her reviews and articles around the world, including Video Librarian. She has appeared on American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies. In 2017, her book 150 Timeless Movies was published by Hannacroix Creek Books. Her website is www.susangranger.com.