The Diplomat

There were two TV series released in 2023 and they are both titled "The Diplomat" and they are very different series. This is the better one, though it has a lot of flaws. This series is set in Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain and centers on Laura Simmonds the British Consul to Catalonia, Aragon and Andorra as she likes to say. It shows different types of cases that a diplomatic consul handles, providing support to British subjects traveling in Spain and Andorra.

The flaw is that it makes Laura Simmonds out to be part diplomat, part investigator, part social worker, part spook...it's hard to swallow that a consul really plays all those roles and more. Sophie Rundle is always good, a RADA trained actress, last I remember seeing her was in "Bodyguard" where she played Richard Madden's wife. I like the rest of the British/Spanish caste and of course beautiful Catalonia, Spain.

Well, when I looked at the synopsis, I thought this would be rather tedious fare, but I gave it a chance and it surprised me!

Ok, it's hardly an all-time great, but it was really quite entertaining. The episodic storylines were interesting, with some sympathetic characters and some "Boo! Hiss!" ne'er do wells.

The season-long story arc held up well, even if some of it was a bit obvious and it wove in some personal life storylines quite effectively.

The principals all did a good job: Sophie Rundle, Serena Manteghi and Steven Cree were all very good. The Barcelona scenery was lovely and it was well shot.

Worth watching!

My first ever review! I thoroughly enjoyed this. Good story lines. Enjoyed the acting. Was a bit confusing the overall story but all came together in the end. You don't have to have watched all of them as there's a new story to each one but there is one that follows through all 6 episodes. Easy watching and I found it difficult to turn off. The relationship between the consulate, police and "victims" is good and sometimes can bring a tear to your eye.

Only reviewing because this is the second show I've looked up on IMDb and there was no ratings and/or reviews?! What's up with the Now TV dramas on here?!

... what are the odds.. two series, both released in 2023, both called 'The Diplomat'... one staring Keri Russell, other Sophie Rundel.. both well-done and VERY-entertaining

... English series produced by BBC Studios & World Productions released on Alibi Network of course to be overshadowed-dwarfed by the American production released on Netflix... actually think slightly-prefer the English offering over the American production... it's much less big-budget and cast & storlines more-interesting approachable-intimate-viewing

... yet they're equally looked forward to when awaiting next season series.. wishing both were just a little bit longer in episode number.

The banner, description, image, number of episodes (6), etc on the page for this series of "The Diplomat" are for the UK version, NOT the 8 episode Netflix version. So why hasn't some moderator removed the reviews that pertain to the Netflix version??

This (the UK 6 episode series) is quite light entertainment if a bit confusing at the start. The mystery in the first episode continues beyond that episode while, in the subsequent episodes, there is a new - and solved - mystery per episode.

The first episode is confusing in that it introduces various characters without giving enough background on each to make it understandable as to exactly why they are there in the first place or the reason there is a "relationship" among them. I had to read a couple of recaps to finally get the drift or who was who in the zoo. Otherwise, it's a good enough series to spend a bit of time with if you can get over the initial confusion - particularly when you get to Episode 2 and it starts out with a completely different mystery and the new characters necessary for that plot.

But again, reading the reviews here will also confuse the heck out of people because some are for this series (as described at the top of the page) while others are for the 8 episode Netflix series. Can a mod PLEASE remove those?