A no-nonsense foreign service officer is tapped for a high-profile post in Netflix’s new political thriller The Diplomat. The Americans star Keri Russell plays Kate Wyler, who is preparing for a new post in Afghanistan when she is unexpectedly named the ambassador to the U.K. Kate has to negotiate an increasingly complicated political situation while also keeping her ambitious husband Hal (Rufus Sewell), a fellow diplomat, in check.
Once you’ve binged all eight episodes of The Diplomat, check out these other shows, which also feature politics, intrigue, and complicated marriages.
‘The Americans’
Kate and Hal have a complicated marriage, but they have nothing on Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Russell), a pair of deep-cover Russian spies posing as a typical couple in suburban Washington D.C. FX’s gripping, 1980s-set spy drama The Americans follows the Jennings as they carry out covert missions while also raising their two kids and befriending their neighbor, Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), who just happens to be an FBI counterintelligence agent.
All six seasons of The Americans are streaming on Hulu.
‘John Adams’
Dive into another era of U.S.-U.K. relations in HBO’s seven-part miniseries John Adams. Based on a biography of Adams by David McCollough, it follows the life and career of America’s second president (played by Paul Giamatti), including his central role as one of the country’s Founding Fathers and his marriage to his wife Abigail (Laura Linney). Bonus: The Diplomat’s Sewell pops up in a couple of episodes as Alexander Hamilton. The cast also includes Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson and Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin.
John Adams is streaming on HBO Max.
‘House of Cards’ (US)
Allegations of sexual assault against series star Kevin Spacey tarnished the later seasons of Netflix’s House of Cards. But the show was a sensation when it debuted in 2013, proving the streaming service was a force to be reckoned with when it came to producing quality TV. Spacey plays ruthless Congressman Frank Underwood, a man who is not afraid to get his hands dirty as he climbs the rungs of power in D.C. Robin Wright plays Frank’s equally ambitious wife Claire, who eventually biomes a powerful political player in her own right.
House of Cards Seasons 1-6 are streaming on Netflix.
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‘House of Cards’ (UK)
Netflix’s House of Cards was based on a British series of the same name from 1990, which proves that politics are just as dirty across the pond as they are in the U.S. Ian Richardson plays Francis Urquhart, a cutthroat conservative MP intent on maneuvering himself into a position of power following the resignation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The first, four-episode series was followed by two sequels also featuring Urquhart, To Play the King (1993) and The Final Cut (1995). All three are streaming on BritBox.
‘Gaslit’
A political wife tries to speak truth to power and pays the price in Starz’s 2022 limited series Gaslit. Julia Roberts plays Martha Mitchell, the wife of former U.S. attorney general and Nixon’s campaign chairman John Mitchell (Sean Penn). Martha – a frequent talk show guest dubbed “the mouth of the South” – had a front-row seat to the unfolding Watergate scandal. But when she spoke out about the notorious break-in at the DNC (and the president’s involvement in the crime), she was mocked and discredited. The eight-episode series explores the breakdown of Martha and John’s marriage and the collapse of the Nixon presidency.
Gaslit is streaming is streaming on Starz.
‘A Very English Scandal’
Mixing the political and the personal can be very messy. That’s certainly the case in A Very English Scandal, a three-episode comedy-drama based on the true story of a liberal member of parliament who went to extreme lengths to cover up an affair. Hugh Grant stars as Jeremy Thorpe, who begins a relationship with a younger man named Norman Scott in the early 1960s. Thorpe eventually breaks things off with Scott, but when the two cross paths again years later, he panics. Fearing that Scott will expose his homosexuality to the press, which would end his political career, Thorpe pays a man to murder his former lover. But the attempted hit doesn’t go as planned.
A Very English Scandal is streaming on Prime Video.
‘Madam Secretary’
In CBS’s Madam Secretary, Téa Leoni plays Elizabeth McCord, a CIA analyst and professor who is appointed Secretary of State after the previous officer holder dies in mysterious circumstances. The fish-out-of-water Elizabeth must adapt to her new role, which, like The Diplomat’s Kate, she got because she’s not a natural politician. At the same time, she must juggle her new job with her marriage to her professor husband (Tim Daly) and raising their three teenage kids.
Madam Secretary Seasons 1-6 are streaming on Netflix.
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