‘The Diplomat’ series on Netflix is an addictive mix of political procedural, comedy and romantic drama

In both diplomacy and television shows, it seems a key part of the battle is getting the right person for the job.

Luckily for both “The Diplomat” on Netflix and the fictional American embassy it portrays in London, England, they found that person in Keri Russell and her alter ego Kate Wyler.

The American actor who so expertly portrayed a Russian sleeper agent in “The Americans” here expertly portrays a U.S. diplomat parachuted into the job of U.K. ambassador after an explosion aboard a British aircraft carrier that, depending on how it’s handled, could nudge the world toward war.

The bumph about the show on IMDb says it’s “a high-profile job for which she is not suited,” but don’t believe that for a moment: Kate proves herself a master at handling people such as a Biden-like U.S. president (Michael McKean), a wily, bull-in-a-china-shop British prime minister (Rory Kinnear) and a prickly U.K. foreign secretary (David Gyasi) — despite her own self-doubts.

She is less adept at managing her husband, Hal (a charming Rufus Sewell), himself a legendary ambassador with a tendency to go rogue, which leads to stress in her job and in their marriage, and torpedoes Kate’s self-image.

Whereas Soviet spy Elizabeth Jennings of “The Americans” was a coolly efficient and polished operator, Kate is often sweaty and slightly unkempt, and perpetually looks like her hair needs to be brushed. (There is one scene in which she meets McKean’s President Rayburn covered in bits of grass and leaves, having just had a physical altercation in the garden with Hal.) Kate would rather be behind the scenes digging into the work than in a dress and high heels schmoozing with people.

“The Diplomat” was created by Debora Cahn, who was an executive producer on terrorism drama “Homeland,” and a producer on political drama “The West Wing” and medical soap “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Thus, not surprisingly, it’s a mix of political procedural, comedy and romantic drama.

Kate and Hal’s strained union is the key partnership, with Kate vacillating between professional respect for Hal’s brilliance as a diplomat and personal antipathy for his failings as a husband. Hal appears to be all in on saving the marriage, although it becomes clear there’s a healthy dose of self-interest involved in everything he does.

There are also sparks between Kate and British foreign secretary Austin Dennison (Gyasi and Russell have great chemistry), and a secret, endearing relationship between Kate’s deputy chief of mission (Ato Essandoh) and the embassy’s CIA station chief (Ali Ahn).

There’s some action, too, with the series’ eight episodes book-ended by two explosions. The first, on the aircraft carrier, drives the diplomatic wrangling that follows, with Kate and Austin struggling to rein in the U.K. PM and his desire to burnish his strongman credentials.

The second explosion, on a London street, sets up a cliffhanger that could have massive personal and professional repercussions for Kate in the second season.

Luckily, Netflix announced the renewal of “The Diplomat” this week, no surprise really: it was No. 1 on Netflix’s global Top 10 list in the second last week of April, shortly after its April 20 debut.

The cast is uniformly good, the dialogue is plentiful and snappy, and the episodes — while sometimes straying into scenarios that strain credulity — move briskly.

“Succession” has proven that even in this age of micro attention spans there’s an appetite for dialogue-heavy shows that require the close paying of attention — if they’re done well enough. “The Diplomat” fits that bill.

And, unlike “Succession,” you don’t have to wait a week for the next episode. All eight are now on Netflix and make for an enjoyable binge.

‘The Crown’ but with just the facts

There will be a plethora of TV coverage of the coronation of King Charles III this weekend. For those interested in the context of the family business of which Charles officially becomes head on Saturday, CBC Gem has the imported docuseries “The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor.”

The series title is obviously a play on the popularity of the Netflix drama “The Crown,” which will conclude its dramatization of the lives of the Royal Family with its sixth season later this year.

The five-episode “Real Crown,” an ITV series that debuted last month in the U.K., is described as “the gripping inside story of the British Royal Family told only by the people who really know.”

The show’s talking heads include Lady Anne Glenconner, a former lady-in-waiting to the late Princess Margaret; Sir William Heseltine, former private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II; and George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury.

They aren’t necessarily spilling new tea. Some of the stories recounted will be familiar to “Crown” viewers: for example, the thwarting of Charles’s romance with the then Camilla Shand; Margaret’s unhappy marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones and affair with look-alike Roddy Llewellyn; and Queen Elizabeth’s visit to her uncle, the Duke of Windsor, shortly before his death.

But even without the imagined dialogue of “The Crown” to bolster the known facts, there’s a clear sense of the human cost of decades of devotion to what many consider an archaic institution.

All five episodes of “The Real Crown” are now streaming on CBC Gem.

Debra Yeo is a deputy editor and a contributor to the Star’s Culture section. She is based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @realityeo

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