The Diplomat Season 3: Latest News, Cast, Potential Storylines, and Everything Else to Know

The Diplomat is the sort of show that could have easily been a pretty standard little political drama series, but the Netflix drama blew up when its first season dropped in 2023 precisely because it's a lot more unique, and a lot more interesting, than that. Starring Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell, The Diplomat manages to simultaneously take itself completely seriously while still being dryly hilarious, and it packs some of the greatest plot twists in recent TV history — each of the first two seasons has wrapped up on some sort of delightfully outrageous cliffhanger. 

Warning: This article will include some major spoilers for Season 2 of The Diplomat. If you have not yet watched, you may want to do something else until you do.

It won't be much longer now until we find out if The Diplomat is able to one-up itself again with Season 3. Or if, maybe, The Diplomat now serves as a nice dose of sanity next the reality show that is American politics in 2025. Let's dive into everything we know so far about Season 3 of The Diplomat.

The Diplomat Season 3 latest news

With The Diplomat being one of Netflix's biggest shows, the streamer is obviously going heavy on the marketing for Season 3 ahead of its premiere in October. That means it's time for another trailer, this one bigger and longer and, most importantly, with a lot more detail. You can ogle the new trailer below.

The Diplomat Season 3 trailer

The new trailer sets out the stakes of Season 3 right at the start. Kate and Hal Wyler (Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell) know that the new president (Allison Janney) was the source of the conspiracy that they'd spent all last season figuring out. And, also, it seems as though the president is going to find out that they know pretty quickly, which should make for plenty of uneasy hijinks. That said, it's a really strange feeling to hear Kate refer to the situation as a "constitutional crisis," considering we're currently experiencing one of those in the real world. This season might hit a bit different.

The 45-second teaser mostly serves to remind you of where we stand heading into Season 3, with Grace Penn — revealed at the end of Season 2 as the secret architect of the mysterious conspiracy that the Wylers spent all season unraveling — now sitting in the Oval Office as the new U.S. president. The teaser indicates the new season will spend a lot more time in Washington than the first two seasons did, but it also makes a point of showing all the major characters who have been based in London, so I wouldn't worry that it's leaving behind its European setting entirely.

The Diplomat Season 3 premiere date

As finally revealed in the teaser trailer above, Season 3 of The Diplomat will drop on Netflix on Oct. 16. 

The Diplomat Season 3 cast and crew

Everybody is back for Season 3 — everyone who's alive, that is, which should include pretty much everyone except for President Rayburn, who apparently died in the final scene of Season 2. 

So, yes, creator/showrunner Debora Cahn is still in charge, and all the key actors will be back for another round. Right now the cast for Season 3 of The Diplomat right now looks about the same as it already did.

• Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, US ambassador to the UK
• Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler
• David Dyasi as UK foreign minister Austin Dennison
• Ato Essandoh as Stuart Heyford, the ambassador's chief of staff
• Ali Ahn as Eidra Park, the local CIA station chief
• Rory Kinnear as UK prime minister Nicol Trowbridge
• Allison Janney as Grace Penn, the incoming US president
• Bradley Whitford as Todd Penn, the new First Gentleman

The Diplomat Season 3 plot and storylines

During Season 2 of The Diplomat, we learned that the inciting incident of the series — the bombing of a British ship that caused the deaths of several dozen British soldiers — was actually caused by members of the British government in a false-flag operation. And then we learned that it was the US vice president Grace Penn who gave them the idea and helped plan it. Ambassador Wyler's husband had the brilliant idea of telling President Rayburn about it — and Rayburn responded by, according to Hal, having a heart attack and dying right then and there. Which means that Grace Penn, who may or may not be the series antagonist, is now president, and she knows that the Wylers know about it.

That's the stage that's been set, but the situation is so ridiculous and over the top that it would be silly to try to guess about what's next on The Diplomat. But while we don't actually know anything about Season 3 just yet, we have at least one cryptic clue from the showrunner.

"In Season 3, Kate lives the particular nightmare that is getting what you want," Debora Cahn said on Netflix's Tudum website. What does that mean, exactly? Well, the thing that Kate Wyler has been pursuing lately is the vice presidency — though the thought was that Penn was going to retire in order to get ahead of this scandal with the British ship. With Penn as the new US president, Cahn may be telling us that Kate Wyler will be Grace Penn's veep, in a "keep your enemies closer" sort of move by the new boss. 

It could also mean the exact opposite. At the beginning of the series, Kate was planning to become the new ambassador to Afghanistan, with the UK post being a last-second pivot. Kate has complained about this often — she's a woman of action, and a cushy post in London isn't what she wanted. 

Whatever the reality ends up being, it seems like Kate will probably use her leverage against Penn to get something, and then that something will probably not work out the way she expected. It's worth noting that Season 3 has been shooting in both New York and London, so it's doubtful the series will stray too far from established places for too long.

Where to watch Season 1 and 2 of The Diplomat

The first two seasons of The Diplomat are available to watch on Netflix.