The Diplomat

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!

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.

I think the heavy "by the producers of The Bodyguard" advertising is a mistake, because this is nothing like The Bodyguard.

If you picture an enjoyable easy-watching six-part political spy drama, as might be made by the team behind Murder In Paradise, then you'd be much closer to what to expect.

There's one overarching plot that covers all six episodes, and while it's not exactly John Le Carre, it still kept me hooked throughout.

And then each episode contains a separate subplot exploring the day-to-day dramas of visitors to Barcelona. These can be a bit hit and miss. Some genuinely pull at your heartstrings, some are a bit silly.

The characters are all likeable, the two lead actresses are engaging, the locations look great, and there's a nice paired back contemporary feel to it. It does sometimes drift into "daytime TV" dialog, but not often enough to be a problem.

Overall, a fun night of binging and it kept me a lot more interested than I was expecting. I hope there's more to come!

Big surprise. I Hope it's renewed for another series. Funny, smart. Contemporary. Good acting but even better dynamics and one-liners that skewer modern manners and obsessions. Sophie Rundle is great but whole roster work well together, particularly amongst the embassy staff Good observations about modern workplace hierarchies too. I like the concept of an overarching narrative with smaller embassy work dovetailed in between. And I'm happy for Spanish dialogue to be kept in rather than anglicise it or use accented speaking. Thanks. I didnt expect a huge amount but this cleared the bar easily !

... 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.