The Diplomat

Netflix Official Trailer: https://bit.ly/3LYMR7q

It will make you want to join the foreign service.

Then again, "Law and Order" and "Perry Mason" might make you want to be an attorney, when in truth very few lawyers go to court and most of the time being a lawyer is incredibly boring.

Let me see, on an absolute scale, I'd give "The Diplomat" a solid 8. Meaning I highly recommend it. Not only was I intrigued, it called out to me, I wanted to watch it, I wanted to finish it, it took me away from the everyday world and made life interesting, both in plot and personality.

The star is Felicity, i.e. Keri Russell. Who is now 47, if you can believe that. Her breakthrough was "The Americans," which I highly recommend bingeing. You can watch from beginning to end, whereas with "The Diplomat" we're going to have to wait at least a year to find out the result of the cliffhanger. Russell plays against type. As in she is not glamorous. That's part of the appeal of her personality on the show, she's all about the work. She doesn't want to wear dresses, she doesn't want to wear heels, she seems to care not a whit how her hair looks, she's the antidote to the endless tsunami of online influencers from the Kardashians on down, who are all about the looks.

You want a job that consumes you. Just like you want a great mattress. After all, both are where you spend most of your time. To do unfulfilling work... Even worse, to be at work and be bored... You can see your life dripping away in front of you.

Furthermore, Felicity/Keri Russell/Kate Wyler does not want the spotlight, she wants the adventure, she wants to make a difference.

As for the Administration... Michael McKean is the president. Funny how this comedian has a new career as a serious actor. But he's at odds with the secretary of state. This is always the case. You'd like to think these officials have the country's best interests at heart, but they mostly care about themselves and their careers.

Speaking of careers... Ato Essandoh as Stuart Hayford's first choice is not the foreign service, but when you lose enough in your primary field of endeavor, you give up, or do you? Essandoh/Hayford, the deputy chief of mission for the U.S. embassy in London, isn't completely obsequious. He's got a backbone, but he is constantly weighing whether to exercise it or not.

Just as fascinating is his girlfriend, Ali Ahn/Eidra Park, who works in the CIA. We hear about the CIA, but it's always portrayed as dark and secret and... Ahn/Park is just doing the job. A career spy, but she can laugh, she's human, whereas most CIA members are portrayed as automatons.

And then there's Rufus Sewell, who bears a distinct resemblance to the dearly departed Ray Liotta, but Rufus, who plays Keri's husband, is English. I didn't believe it, his accent was so good.

And then there's the three-dimensional prime minister, Rory Kinnear as Nicol Trowbridge. At first you think he's a wimp, then you think he's a hothead, and then you think he may have his finger on the pulse of modern England.

And "The Diplomat" is very modern. Unlike most of the shows from the past few years it doesn't try to be timeless, Brexit has happened and there is war in Ukraine and...

Somewhere I read "The Diplomat" is a drama with comedy. I wouldn't say that, it's definitely a drama. And it all rings true except for one domestic roll in the hay that doesn't happen in bed and doesn't involve sex.

I guess "The Diplomat" gives the impression that people have power, in a world where we feel powerless. That you can choose a path and make a difference. And that fame and money are not the highest calling.

However I could never be a diplomat, because it's a weird combination of kissing ass and exercising the aforementioned backbone. At least in this series.

In regular life, unless you run the organization, you must play politics all the time. You can't offend anybody or your upward path is stymied. It's a game. Whereas in "The Diplomat" people will set a pick, stand up to someone else and not candy coat their words.

However, the process of diplomacy is very slow, unlike in this series.

Now I must say that my sister and our shrink both watched one episode and moved on. So maybe not everybody will be enticed by "The Diplomat."

But I was.


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