NEED TO KNOW
Allison Janney is now the President of the United States in season 3 of The Diplomat, and Keri Russell is not happy about that.
On Monday, Aug. 18, Netflix released the first teaser for the highly anticipated new season of the political drama, which will premiere on Oct. 16.
The short teaser hints at the tensions rising both in Washington, D.C. and in London following the dramatic end to season 2, which led Vice President Grace Penn (Janney) to assume leadership of the U.S.
Russell’s Ambassador Kate Wyler is mistrusting of Grace, and now that she’s President, things are only going to get more complicated.
“A terribly flawed woman is now the president,” Kate tells her husband, Hal (Rufus Sewell), in the teaser. “And only we know just how flawed [she is].”
Clifton Prescod/Netflix
As a few dramatic scenes from the upcoming season play out — including the first look at newcomer Bradley Whitford, who joins as Grace’s husband, First Gentleman Todd Penn, in action — it’s clear that the transition of power is not exactly going smoothly.
Hal, as usual, doesn’t seem too ruffled by it. “You will be in the White House, watching what she does, all the time,” he tells Kate, hinting at his continued efforts to get her in as Vice President, which has been in the works since season 1.
Season 3 “flips the chessboard,” creator Debora Cahn teased.
“In Season 3, Kate lives the particular nightmare that is getting what you want,” the showrunner told Tudum.
Per the official synopsis, the upcoming season picks up after Kate “accused Vice President Grace Penn of hatching a terrorist plot and admitted she’s after the VP’s job.”
“But now the President is dead, Kate’s husband Hal may have inadvertently killed him, and Grace Penn is leader of the free world.”
Despite so many moving pieces, as his line in the teaser suggests, Hal’s “campaign to land Kate the vice presidency” is not slowing down.
Courtesy of Netflix
“Kate steps into a role she never wanted, with a freedom she never expected, an increasingly complicated friendship with Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi), and an unnerving bond with First Gentleman Todd Penn.”
Whitford said he was “jealous” of how good the writing is on The Diplomat before he joined the cast.
The actor, 65, told Netflix’s Tudum that he was “thrilled” when creator Debora Cahn told him she was “interested” in working with him.
“I had no idea what it was, but I love the show. I was jealous of the writing on this show,” he said. “I love Keri. I love Rufus.”
Courtesy of Netflix
He then quipped about his former West Wing costar, “And I hear Allison Janney is good at acting too. It’s an amazing cast.”
Janney, 65, told PEOPLE she was “so happy” when Cahn suggested Whitford to play her onscreen husband. “I just thought it was the best idea ever.”
Admittedly, it’s “a little bit” strange that they’re playing romantic interests after starring as colleagues in The West Wing for seven years. “We have a bedroom scene, and I told Brad about it. I was like, ‘Okay. We’re just going to … We can do this. We can handle it.'”
“It’s so hilarious that we’re going to be doing this together, but I couldn’t love it more. It’s perfect. It’s the perfect way to reunite these two in this political drama.”
Courtesy of Netflix
Janney also praised Russell, 49, and Sewell, 57, who she said are “so divine” to work with.
“And now that Brad is too, it just makes it even more delicious. It’s so great,” she added. “I’m really excited about it.
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The Diplomat season 3 premieres Oct. 16 on Netflix.
