Cast, Premiere Date, Plot, Trailer, Filming Updates

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Diplomat Season 2 finale.]

Have you ever imagined a world where CJ Gregg and Josh Lyman got married on The West Wing? Well, imagine no more. The Diplomat is staging a West Wing reunion in Season 3 with Bradley Whitford set to play Allison Janney‘s husband, and Netflix has just released the first-look images of their onscreen reunion in addition to confirming that Season 3 will premiere this year.

Janney plays Vice President Grace Penn in the Emmy-nominated Netflix political drama, making Whitford the second gentleman. But as viewers well know, the Season 2 finale ended on a massive cliffhanger that saw Penn get promoted to world’s highest office in the season’s final seconds. From White House staff to White House residents!

Here’s everything we know about The Diplomat Season 3, which is already in production in New York and London, including the three new photos from Season 3 and what Whitford’s casting means after that explosive Season 2 finale cliffhanger that saw Grace’s life change forever.

When does The Diplomat Season 3 premiere?

Allison Janney as Grace Penn, Bradley Whitford as Todd Penn in The Diplomat Season 3 Episode 6 (Clifton Prescod / Netflix)

The Diplomat was renewed in early October 2024 before its Season 2 premiere on Halloween. Netflix announced on Thursday, January 30 that Season 3 will come out in 2025. An official release date will be announced at a later time. The photos and release date update were part of Netflix’s “Next on Netflix” campaign, which also provided first looks at upcoming Netflix titles like Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein film, Wednesday Season 2, and more.

While there is no set release date as of the time of publication, Netflix confirmed in November that The Diplomat Season 3 was already in production in New York and London. It seems that Kate will become Penn’s VP in Season 3.

“Season 3 flips the chessboard,” series creator Debora Cahn told Tudum. “In Season 3, Kate lives the particular nightmare that is getting what you want.”

What is The Diplomat about?

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler in The Diplomat Season 3 Episode 5 (Liam Daniel / Netflix)

The Diplomat stars Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell as Kate and Hal Wyler. Kate, the US ambassador in London, and Hal, a former ambassador himself, are in a complicated marriage directly affected by how they operate at work. But the work and its dangers are the show’s main appeal.

In Season 2, struggling to rebuild the lives that broke and the team that split apart, Kate’s worst fears unfold: The attack that brought her to the UK didn’t come from a rival nation, it came from inside the British government. As Kate chases the truth, her only real ally is her almost-ex-husband Hal, very much alive, and very much involved. She faces a fraught marriage, a complex dynamic with British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi), and a threatening visit from Vice President Grace Penn.

Kate learned she was being primed to replace VP Penn at the end of Season 1, and she ended up crossing paths with the VP in Season 2. There was an admiration amid the subliminal rivalry between them. Russell’s character has serious apprehensions about taking on the role, which would require her to be more glamorous and performative than she finds valuable. But Penn makes clear that a clean, stylized aesthetic is an unavoidable prerequisite to being taken seriously as a woman in global politics.

Kate wasn’t privy to the secrets of Penn’s top-secret work, leading to a distrust in the VP that she called out in the back half of Season 2. As Kate confronted Penn in the high-intensity finale, Hal acted on his own and called President William Rayburn (Michael McKean). The president died on the call, and the season ended with Penn’s Secret Service rushing out onto the field where she and Kate were sparring.

Who is in The Diplomat cast?

Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler, Allison Janney as Grace Penn, Bradley Whitford as Todd Penn, Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in The Diplomat Season 3 Episode 6 (Clifton Prescod / Netflix)

In addition to Russell, Sewel, Gyasi, and Janney, The Diplomat stars Ali Ahn as CIA Station Chief Eidra Park, Ato Essandoh as Stuart Hayford, Kate’s Chief of Staff, and Rory Kinnear as British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge. Recurring cast includes Celia Imrie, Nana Mensah, and Miguel Sandoval.

Deadline first rreported that Whitford would join the Season 3 cast as Janney’s first gentleman. Series creator Cahn was a writer on The West Wing, which is no doubt what made this reunion possible.

Is there a trailer for The Diplomat Season 3?

Not yet, but stay tuned as we continue to report the latest updates.

The Diplomat, Season 3, TBA, Netflix