Keri Russell back with ‘The Diplomat’

NEW YORK

When the White House calls, you answer - even if you don’t want to. That’s exactly Kate Wyler’s (Keri Russell) sworn duty in “The Diplomat” when she’s ordered to hop on the next flight to London instead of Afghanistan. A change of mission wasn’t what she had in mind, and the new gig bears tectonic implications for her marriage and political future.

The show’s creator, Debora Cahn (The West Wing, Homeland), was drawn to the world of “The Diplomat” after meeting with a number of ambassadors while working on “Homeland.”

“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 told Netflix.

Cahn was also inspired by the idea of couples who work together, and the “tandem couples” who work in the Foreign Service are passionate about what they do and each other.

“But 10, 15 years later, you’re in a situation where the person you love most is also somebody you’re competing with all the time.”

Kate Wyler is a seasoned U.S. diplomat who’s spent her career working behind the scenes in war-torn regions to make the world a better place. She planned on heading to Kabul for her next assignment, but is forced into an unfamiliar and uncomfortable realm when the president asks her to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. — a far more formal and attention-grabbing position.

Russell is known for her roles in “The Americans,” “Cocaine Bear,” “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,” “Waitress,” “August Rush,” “Austenland,” “Extraordinary Measures,” “Running Wilde” and (getting her hair sheared off in) “Felicity.”

Busy with three kids, she was definitely not looking for a new show. But then “The Diplomat” came calling.

“I read Debora Cahn’s script, and I just thought it was so funny and sharp and messy and enjoyable, and I couldn’t say no,” Russell told Netflix.

“It was also great writing,” Russell said that has brought her back to TV. “For me, it’s always about the writing,” Russell said, and “this is so smart and acerbic and full of all this political jargon. Cahn has this real take on the minutiae of life and relationships.”

“The Diplomat” was released on Netflix on April 20.