Netflix’s Best Returning Show Arrives With High Critic Scores For Season 2

This was published on 10/31 and republished on 11/2.

One of Netflix's favorite sleeper hits has returned in the form of The Diplomat, where season 2 has just gone live, and so far, it's reviewing better than season 1 did. We'll see if that extends to fans as well.

The Diplomat season 2 currently has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes , a decent upgrade from the 84% of season 1, albeit with fewer reviews in so far, so we'll see if it goes up or down. The previous season had a 54% from audiences, which frankly surprises me, as that's pretty poor in the context of most shows, and I don't really get what would have made people dislike it to that degree. Audience scores for season 2 are not in yet.

Perhaps the biggest issue with the second season is that it's short, just six episodes compared to season 1's eight, but that's not due to any sort of Netflix budget cuts, as its showrunner Debora Cahn recently explained:

"It was my decision," Cahn told TVLine , "[Netflix] was not happy. They wanted the full eight....I was really tired. It was a time thing. It felt like there wasn't enough time to turn around eight of them. It was a lot to do in what appeared to be a short period of time."

Cahn ended up getting more time than she initially thought she would, but it was too late to change things up to make it eight episodes by that point.

I would expect The Diplomat will hit #1 on Netflix's top 10 list soon enough, but there's no need to worry about how it performs in terms of viewership, as two weeks before release here, Netflix already announced that it was renewed for a third season, which will move the action to NYC instead of DC. I believe it's starting production imminently, so perhaps it will be less of a wait between seasons this time, and we will get a full eight episodes in, which seems likely after Netflix was "not happy" with six this time.

I would put The Diplomat in the "Lincoln Lawyer" tier of Netflix shows, a solid performer that is not setting any records but decent quality and a low cost and good viewership means it's something they're happy to continue on indefinitely. And it was high profile enough to land Keri Russell a Best Actress nomination at the Emmys, Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes.

I am excited to sit down and watch the new season, and see how things lead into the storyline that heads to New York next time around. I'll report back soon.

Update (11/2): Up to 25 reviews now, The Diplomat is now "certified fresh" and has retained the same score of a 92%, beating out season 1. Also notably the audience score is now coming in and sits at an 89%, which is far above the (somewhat inexplicable) 55% of season 1.

I've started the season myself and have found it to be quite compelling already, even if it feels like I'm racing through it with only six episodes in total here. I'll get into spoilers a bit from what I've seen so far, so turn back know if you're not past episode 2 yet.

While it was obvious the traitorous British MP would die in the blast, the show also decided to sacrifice Ronny, which was no big shock given that other two's relevance to the larger story. I mean, even the trailers made it clear that Hal had survived, and he's like 40% of the show by himself, given the dynamic between him and his wife.

It feels like the show is going to pull some sort of twist where even though everything is pointing to the Prime Minister doing a false flag operation, the fact that they can't prove it yet feels significant, and I do wonder if something else is going on here. They do seem to be putting a lot of focus on his wife this time around... Maybe he did do it, but it was her idea? I'm not sure, and I'm going to keep watching.

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