Keri Russell's Character In The Diplomat Was Inspired By Real-Life Ambassadors

Fans of The Americans, get ready: Keri Russell’s latest TV lead role has arrived, and it’s another thriller. Netflix’s The Diplomat stars Russell as Kate Wyler, the titular diplomat who’s appointed the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom — which, as the streamer puts it, “has tectonic implications for her marriage and her political future.”

But is The Diplomat based on a true story? Series creator Debora Cahn got the idea for the show while working on Showtime’s Homeland, where she got to meet real-life ambassadors. “The Foreign Service is the first in and the last out of every disaster in the world, and nobody knows who they are or what they do,” she explained in a recent Netflix interview.

So even if The Diplomat isn’t based on a specific true story, it’s definitely rooted in reality. Last year, a source told Politico that “staff interviewed around 60 experts during a two-year development process [including] current and former diplomats as well as military and intelligence analysts and protocol advisers.” The show also employed consultants with experience in national security and foreign affairs.

The outlet did point out a few things that aren’t entirely true to life, though. For example: Russell’s character, Kate, is already a member of the Foreign Service when she’s given the new U.K. post. “In the real world, the perch atop one of America’s most vital embassies — one housing so many U.S. agencies that it’s practically a mini-U.S. government abroad — usually goes to a rich person who helped fund the president’s campaign and can throw a big party,” Politico points out. “And that person is nearly always a man.”

Despite that norm, the current, real-world U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom is a woman with diplomatic experience: Jane Hartley. She was nominated by President Biden in January 2022, shortly before The Diplomat was formally announced. Hartley hasn’t been cited as an inspiration for the series, but the connection definitely brings the series that much closer to real life.