Debora Cahn (‘The Diplomat’ creator) on how America’s broken ‘treaties and ripped up agreements’ inspired the Netflix series [Exclusive Video Interview]
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This article and video contain spoilers about the first season of “The Diplomat,” including the season finale.
“I like writing about things that I think actually matter in the world, but doing it in a way that is entertaining,” shares Debora Cahn about her approach to storytelling. As a writer who admits to finding “the news to be overwhelming,” she tries to “turn it into story” and “give an access point” to audiences to untangle complicated ideas and developments. Her latest venture into exactly this type of writing is the Netflix series “The Diplomat,” in which she serves as creator, showrunner, executive producer and writer. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
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Cahn discusses how “The Diplomat” emerged from her concern about the “American reputation abroad.” She explains how the country’s standing “took a little bit of a hit in the last few years” because “we left treaties and ripped up agreements.” The show was thus born out of her questioning, “What is that going to mean in the future, how do you repair that?”
Keri Russell stars in the title role as Kate Wyler, a field officer previously based in Afghanistan who gets sent to London as the American ambassador after a British carrier is attacked and the motives may be to draw the U.S.’s attention. Cahn describes casting the three-time Emmy nominee for “The Americans” as a “moonshot,” adding she feels like she “won the lottery” that Russell signed on. The creator elaborates that the actress “has so much power and strength and intelligence in her performing, and this is a role where she’s able to really lean into the comic side of her talent… and her ability to play vulnerability and nuance and intelligence and power all at the same time.”
SEE New Netflix political drama ‘The Diplomat’ starring Keri Russell drops first trailer
Much of the humor in the series derives from the relationship between Kate and her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell), another member of the foreign service who has become a superstar, if not also controversial. Cahn notes that her “favorite thing is putting intense drama together with comedy” because “that’s been the experience of my life.” She adds, “Keri and Rufus have an incredible chemistry with each other and ability to make that flip” from high-stakes drama to physical comedy “on a dime.”
Cahn paired the premise of an American diplomat in London with a political marriage because of the “really intense dynamic” of having two people in the same career as both “partners and competitors.” She notes how this phenomenon, known as “tandem partners,” is extremely common in the foreign service, in part because the intensive training and distant locations where field officers are stationed make for “extremely romantic and exciting” circumstances.
Across its eight episodes, “The Diplomat” depicts staggeringly beautiful and historic locations, from the diplomatic offices and residence to English country manors. Shooting in London, Cahn shares, means that “palaces are available” for production, which made the writer feel like “a kid in a candy shop.” The season finale also brings some of the main characters to Paris, making for some memorable shots inside and outside of the Louvre, which the creator says is an “incredible gift.”
The first season finale ends explosive, and although Cahn spared the details for viewers who have not yet seen all eight episodes, she offers insight into why the episode concludes how it does: “It’s a very real part of the lives of the people who do this kind of work… these people are often targets or are often in places that are dangerous… It felt dishonest to simply always have them romping around beautiful places.” The writer drew specific inspiration from the book “The Ambassadors” by Paul Richter, from which she learned that “more diplomats die in the line of duty than generals… It felt that it would be dishonest not to portray that.”
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