Secret state intelligence operations, spy projects and days have monopolized the interest of movie producers for years, and this is where Hollywood meets most of the public who want to look behind the scenes. An audience that sees more related productions and reads relevant literature, the more convinced that this view reveals part of reality. In addition, non-fiction books by executives and leaders of important intelligence services (see CIA and MI6), usually published after retirement, such as the memoirs of Allen Dahl, the legendary master spy John F. Kennedy, or, more recently, George In the Bush administration’s view, only the seventh and final volume of the Harry Potter series surpassed them as the number one bestseller, reinforcing this public sentiment. And while there is no indication that viewers and readers are tired of the genre, or maybe because of it, the new Diplomat series brings to the fore another branch of politics: diplomats, although – spoiler – a bomb in a car. in the last episode of the first cycle, indicates to the experienced viewer-friend of the genre that covert operations and spies will be included in future episodes of the series. Because, logically, the show has a future, as creator Deborah Kahn, who also signed part of the production and many of the scripts for Homeland and The West Wing, has proven she can handle long narratives with interesting stories. .

Commenting on the series, we could point to the inclusion of colored protagonists in important political positions and the careful mention of racial issues – sine qua non in Hollywood productions now – if reality had not surpassed imagination by electing the prime ministers of India and Pakistan. of British and Scottish descent respectively, with the Scottish elect posting on social media a photo of six of his family’s men praying for the election at the Prime Minister’s residence, and with the women… of course not. So let’s leave it at that and take a different path, like the one taken by two established media outlets, the Guardian and internet politicians, who highlight the diplomats’ joy at finally being in big productions.

“The ratio between stories of war and stories of diplomacy on the small screen is 100 to 1.”

“We do not have many examples of stories with the role of diplomacy on the small screen. There’s a 100-to-1 ratio between stories of war and stories of diplomacy,” Jenna Ben-Yehuda, who spent twelve years in intelligence and politics at the State Department and is now president of the Truman National Policy Center, tells The Guardian. : “I think it’s time to pay attention to diplomacy, because it’s good for everyone to see this side of US global involvement for once, and not another militarized point of view.”

“Diplomacy is forty days and nights in a hotel room in Vienna, listening to the same points of pointless conversation, drinking the entire minibar. Diplomacy again and again comes to “no”. Diplomacy never works. Until he does, ”says one of the characters – a seasoned diplomat from the series. This highlighting of the difficulty of, among other things, being a diplomat, along with the knowledge, talent, patience, composure and other qualities that the series suggests are necessary to fulfill this role, seems to have excited MPs, politicians, journalists and officials, since, according to According to Politico, he was among those celebrating when Netflix announced it had renewed the series for a second season. According to Embassy spokesman Aaron Snipe, current U.S. Ambassador to the UK Jane Hartley, the second woman to hold the post, a rarity on the show, is among The Diplomat’s fans, according to Embassy spokesman Aaron Snipe, whom he, along with other officials contributed to the formation of the script through discussion with the creators.

Shots at the embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

It is not certain that stories with diplomats can compete with the poignancy of espionage, covert or military operations, especially when the latter are largely connected to reality, opening windows for various interpretations offered with the help of “experts”. memoirs and declassified documents that may exist. However, filming the series in real government offices helps in this direction. Several scenes were filmed at the Commonwealth and Development Office in Westminster, including the Foreign Secretary’s own office, a rare privilege. Scenes were also filmed inside the squat modernist cube of the new American embassy at Nine Elms by the Thames. But the filmmakers were not given permission to “rent” the Winfield House residence on the outskirts of Regent’s Park, which was sold to the US government by Woolworth’s heiress Barbara Hutton for one dollar in 1946 and where the current ambassador lives. Jane Hartley is not a career diplomat, but a political appointee, as “posh” European posts, such as the one in London, are usually given to wealthy campaign donors. Political appointees are not necessarily devoid of foreign policy acumen, but many professional diplomats are skeptical of them, who have been immersed in international politics all their lives and have worked hard to rise through the ranks. Like the characters in The Diplomat with the stars of The Americans and Dark City, Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell respectively play a powerful pair of career diplomats.

“I really liked the scene where someone asks if they are waiting for their private art collection to decorate the ambassador’s residence, and the main characters say: “We are professional diplomats, we don’t have them,” American Lewis Lukens. diplomat and former Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in London.

Case

Although Politico devoted not one, not two, but three whole parts to the series, and one of them conducted an entire investigation to determine where the truth and where the lies are in the evidence that the series uses, we say that you should not get to this point. destroying the audience’s enjoyment of not knowing what’s going on. But for the idea… Russell plays Kate Wyler, the new US ambassador to the UK, who is sent there to make sure the plans of the British Prime Minister (Rory Kinnear) are aligned with the interests of the United States following a missile attack on a British aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Was it Iran? Russia; Somebody else; Will the allies agree to bomb Tehran? And it ends here. Let’s see it; Check it!