Netflix: “The Diplomat” starring Keri Russell

There’s nothing very diplomatic about Katherine Wyler (Keri Russell), the star of “The Diplomat,” Debora Cahn’s Netflix series. As the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, she combines the fiery temperament of Samantha Power with the delicacy of a 20-pound sledgehammer.

Wyler was supposed to serve as the ambassador to Afghanistan before she was reassigned to the Court of St. James, a position she initially regarded as powder-puffy. Turns out it is anything but, for the series opens with a British ship being blown up in Middle Eastern waters. The struggle to find whodunnit is on.

Through her mind-boggling knowledge of international affairs and the contacts she has developed over time, Wyler determines that Iran, seemingly the perpetrator, is not guilty. She has to battle numerous politicians who are eager to find an Iranian scalp including a bumptious British PM (Rory Linnear) who combines the worst traits of Boris Johnson and Mafia boss Tony Soprano.

While the diplomat herself may not possess qualities thought to be typically diplomatic, she certainly is sexy. Katherine’s scenes with her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell), a former diplomat himself, are in a word steamy. Hal is struggling to keep himself from interfering in her ambassadorial duties as she clearly can do the job all by herself, but she calls on him anyway when she runs out of options.

The R-rated stuff isn’t confined to the goings-on of the Wylers. The underemployed Hal has time on his hands to make goo-goo eyes at the beautiful Cecelia Dennison (T’Nia Miller). She is the sister of the British foreign secretary Austin Dennison (the handsome David Gyasi) who meanwhile has a thing for Katharine (and she for him.)There’s a third secret romance, between the Ambassador’s chief of staff (Ato Essendoah) and a spicy CIA chief (Ali Ahn) that both are reluctant to make public.

The writing is tremendously savvy about current world affairs, including the Ukraine war, Russia and various hot spots in the Middle East and Libya. The characters are extremely well fleshed out. Cahn writes Wyler as a very real ambassador who spills food on her clothes before a meeting and tells off everybody from the president of the United States (Michael McKean from “Better Call Saul”) to a top Russian official. We need more people in government like Wyler and more opportunities for talented actresses like Keri Russell (“The Americans”) to play them.

PS: there’s a cliffhanger at the end of Episode 8 that will have you longing for Season 2 of “The Diplomat.” Good news: a new season has been green-lighted and may be Netflix-ready by summer 2024. (I do hope my revealing this is not a breach of national security.)