Season 4 of The Diplomat is now available on Netflix, and its creator Debora Cahn has explained the common thread that runs through the new installment. According to the showrunner, the central question of this season is simple yet devastating: where is your moral red line?
The eight episodes of this fourth batch pick up the story right after the dramatic finale of Season 3, when Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) and Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) were caught up in a plan to secure a nuclear weapon from a sunken Russian submarine. Furthermore, Hal assumed the role of Vice President alongside Grace Penn (Allison Janney), which completely reconfigures the balance of power between the characters.
Statements from the cast and creative team, provided by Netflix, agree on one point: the series has never sought absolute heroes or villains, and this season takes that idea to the extreme.
What is The Diplomat Season 4 really about?
For Debora Cahn, the season explores how each character feels their own boundaries shifting.
I think it has become much more about the question of where your moral red line is. Every character feels that the lines are moving and that the assumptions about what they considered acceptable, in their own actions or in those of others, are changing, explains the showrunner.
Executive producer Janice Williams adds that this question has been building since the first season.
Excess is not something someone decides all of a sudden one day. It happens in stages, not all at once. And each of those stages, on its own, doesn't seem that serious, until suddenly the excess becomes a huge leap that seems catastrophic, notes Williams.
The relationship between Kate and Hal Wyler becomes even more strained
The series' regular director, Alex Graves, explains that the bond between Kate and Hal becomes more fragile this season, partly because Hal now holds a position of real power alongside the President.
Now he is building ties with the President, and Kate sees that both she and Hal can bring out the worst in each other. She is very worried about the diplomatic impact of that on politics and the world, details Graves.
Keri Russell agrees that, despite the tensions, Kate and Hal never give up on each other.
They start in a very fractured place at the beginning of the season, and they stay in the room saying really harsh things to each other, but they work it out, they fight and they stay there. They are determined to stay together, the actress states.
Russell also emphasizes that, for the first time, one of them has a seat at the table of the highest possible power.
They want to be in the room causing the change they want. They are very altruistic, they want to help the world, and for the first time Hal is really there, she points out.
Rufus Sewell defends Hal Wyler’s gray area
Rufus Sewell responds to those who wrote his character off after the Season 3 finale.
As always happens in this series, if you make a judgment about someone considering them evil or very good, if you keep watching, there will be more information and more context. So everything ends up being a bit grayer, which is more like life, explains the actor.
Sewell also reflects on why Grace chose Hal as her number two.
He is someone who can exist, as you have to, in a moral gray area when decisions sometimes come down to which bus of innocent people we are going to sacrifice in this case, he notes.
Marriage, the other major theme of the season
Allison Janney, who plays President Grace Penn, reveals that her character begins to doubt herself for the first time.
During this season she starts to think: am I doing this right? She starts to doubt herself, but she doesn't want to show it. So she doubles down and makes decisions that scare others, says Janney.
That insecurity also affects her marriage to First Gentleman Todd Penn, played by Bradley Whitford, who this season becomes a series regular alongside Janney.
Todd feels more and more that he has no way to reach her, that she has become less nuanced, explains Janney.
Whitford, for his part, believes that this way of portraying marriages is what distinguishes the series.
It is very rare to have a series about really complicated marriages that isn't cynical. Despite all the messes and frustrations in the marital relationships in this series, it is very optimistic about marriage without being sentimental about it, he states.
Nana Mensah, who plays White House Chief of Staff Billie Appiah, believes that marriage is really the key to this season.
I think Deb delved deeper into marriage this season than in others, because in previous seasons there was a lot of plot to resolve before getting to this, explains Mensah.
Ali Ahn, who plays CIA Station Chief Eidra, points out that her character begins to let her guard down with Stuart (Ato Essandoh).
Her job makes it so she really can't get very close to people, but the fact that Stuart refuses to leave and keeps insisting that she trust him causes a softening, whether she likes it or not, says Ahn.
A G7 summit and an ending that leaves the cast stunned
According to Janice Williams, the entire season builds toward a G7 summit that served as a reference for the writing team. The outcome of this fourth installment once again leaves the cast speechless: Ato Essandoh assures that he spent the ride home after the final script reading sending messages to Debora Cahn, unable to believe what he had just read.
Essandoh himself jokes about the level of attention the series demands.
You can't watch this show while doing the dishes or vacuuming, he warns.
Frequently Asked Questions about The Diplomat Season 4
When did The Diplomat Season 4 premiere on Netflix?
All eight episodes of The Diplomat Season 4 are now available on Netflix.
What is The Diplomat Season 4 about according to its creator?
Debora Cahn explains that the season revolves around the question of where each character's moral red line is, as those boundaries shift throughout the story.
What is the relationship between Kate and Hal Wyler this season?
According to Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell, Kate and Hal go through a moment of great friction due to Hal's new position as Vice President, but both remain united despite the conflicts.
What role does Grace Penn have in Season 4?
Allison Janney plays President Grace Penn, who this season begins to doubt her own decisions for the first time, which also affects her marriage to Todd Penn, played by Bradley Whitford.
How many episodes does The Diplomat Season 4 have?
The fourth season of The Diplomat consists of eight episodes, all available on Netflix.
