[Editor’s note: The following contains major spoilers for Season 3 of The Diplomat.]

The Netflix series The Diplomat, from creator/showrunner Debora Cahn, is back for Season 3 and sees Grace Penn (Allison Janney) having to step up as President of the United States, selecting Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) to stand by her side as the vice president. That decision sends Kate (Keri Russell) reeling and she decides to stay on as Ambassador to the U.K., living separately from Hal while putting on a happily married face at public events. As Hal takes full advantage of what his new title provides, First Gentleman Todd Penn (Bradley Whitford) lets Kate in on the displeasure he’s feelings about how close their spouses have gotten.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Janney and Whitford talked about their The West Wing reunion, being huge fans of The Diplomat, being reminded that the U.S. hasn’t ever actually had their own female president, the improvised line during their intimate moment, how Todd feels about Grace’s relationship with Hall, how Grace feels about her choice of Hal as VP, and that they’re excited to learn about what’s to come in Season 4.

‘The West Wing’ Raised the Bar for Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford When It Comes to Political TV Series

“I am leery of doing a crappy show about politics.”

Collider: When you both do a series as great as The West Wing, that’s held up as one of the greatest TV series of all time, does that make you hesitate before taking on a role in that sort of political realm again? Does it raise the standard much higher, in that regard?

ALLISON JANNEY: I was gung-ho, all about it. Brad [Whitford] and I both saw the first season of this show, having no idea we were going to join the cast. Watching Keri [Russell] and Rufus [Sewell] and their characters, we were both jealous. So, to get to be part of it, I was excited to join the cast. I felt more comfortable stepping into this role of vice president, having the experience I did on The West Wing and going through that, learning about politics and being comfortable in the White House. Somehow it prepared me to take on this role right now. I’m so excited to be a part of telling these stories with Debora Cahn writing. She was a writer on The West Wing, and Alex Graves was one of our best directors on The West Wing. It felt like coming home. And then, when Brad joined, it really was like, “Okay, I’m set. This is heaven.”

BRADLEY WHITFORD: I am leery of doing a crappy show about politics. I’m very leery of that. But like Allison said, I was a huge fan of this show, and of Rufus and Keri and Debora and Debora’s writing. Debora has a voice, and it’s unmistakable when there is a voice. The genre doesn’t scare me, as long as that voice is there. I remember when The West Wing was happening, it was like, “You can’t do a show about politics. It just doesn’t work.” And now, there’s been Veep, Scandal, and House of Cards. It’s an incredible arena because the pressure is so high and the stakes are so high. What’s brilliant about this show is the metaphor of international diplomacy within relationships and the power struggles within relationships. It was a no-brainer. I had no hesitation.

Allison, even though it’s fake and you’re playing a character, does it still feels surreal to step into the shoes of someone who has to become the president after the person who was in the job died? What was the most surreal or strange presidential moment?

JANNEY: It was shocking, reading the ending of Season 2. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think I was going to be stepping into the role of President of the United States in such a dramatic fashion. It was thrilling and also very bittersweet, getting sworn in as the first female President of the United States, soon after the results of our last election. Everyone was very sad. It just reminded us of how many barriers women still face in the world of politics. But I’m proud to be able to play this character in the hopes that someday we’ll normalizing a woman as president and will elect a female president sometime soon. It’s a delight to play her. She’s been underestimated her whole life. She gets judged more harshly for decisions she makes. The decision that she made to attack the ship to keep Scotland from annexing was a very difficult decision, but one that Hal even says he would make too. But because she’s a woman, she’s evil and she’s accused of being a traitor. It’s complicated, but it makes it a lot of fun to play.

Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford Wanted to Have Fun With Their Intimate Moment in ‘The Diplomat’ Season 3

“It wasn’t ‘9 ½ Weeks.‘”

The scene with Grace and Todd in bed when the Secret Service runs in because they think something is happening was hilarious. What was that scene like to shoot? Did you have some room to play with that? The moment they mention that everything is entirely consensual, I just couldn’t stop laughing. It was so funny. Was all of that scripted?

JANNEY: I was a little nervous about it. I thought, “My God, this is Brad. He’s like my brother.” But once we got in bed together, it was hilarious. We had so much fun. And Brad is so playful. He makes everything more fun, and he just made it fun. We had fun together. It was not weird. We weren’t doing Babygirl, or anything like that. It was pretty tame.

WHITFORD: It wasn’t 9 ½ Weeks. That would be weird.

JANNEY: No, I couldn’t do that.

WHITFORD: It was really fun. I do think I improvised “consensual” though.

JANNEY: Yes, he totally had carte blanche. It was totally fun.

WHITFORD: It was weird to be called to a meeting with Allison Janney and an intimacy coordinator.

How did you feel about where things were left at the end of this season for your characters, for their relationship, and for the nation? How is this going to affect things moving forward?

JANNEY: Only Debora knows. We have no idea.

WHITFORD: No idea.

JANNEY: We start shooting soon. Neither of us has read Episode 401. We don’t know. Debora has all the answers. We’re just excited to see where she’s taking us.

Bradley, Todd sees something between Grace and Hal that Kate doesn’t even seem to really notice. By the end of the season, how would your character describe what he sees going on between the two of them?

WHITFORD: I love it so much because it’s so vulnerable and so stupid, but weirdly understandable, seeing the person you love fulfilled, thrilled, and stimulated by a very handsome man. They’re these sophisticated, complicated people, and yet there’s this dog park jealousy that he’s uncomfortable with. I love it. I don’t know where it’s going.

I love that he’s not oblivious to it. They’re smart enough to notice what’s happening.

WHITFORD: Yeah. Initially, I was like, “Jesus, he’s jealous? Does he actually think this is going on?” But there’s something really intimate about a guy who’s clearly in love with her and protective of her going, “You know what? That makes me feel weird.” There’s something really intimate about her going, “You’re a fucking idiot.”

JANNEY: Like Grace says, “Do you think Mrs. Rayburn questioned President Rayburn when he was sitting by the fire talking to his vice president? No, that’s ridiculous. Stop it. Shut up.” Just because she’s a woman and he’s a man, and a very handsome and very charming man, I don’t get it.

WHITFORD: I love it.

By the End of Season 3 of ‘The Diplomat,’ President Grace Penn Believes She Picked the Right VP

“I think that she sees him as a real ally.”

Image via Netflix

How does Grace feel about Hal, by the end of the season? How does she feel about the choice that she’s made for her VP?

JANNEY: She sees that he’s capable of making the decisions that she feels are sometimes dangerous and a little questionable, but that are necessary, difficult decisions to protect the country, especially with the bomb they’re talking about, that they take so no one else can get it and use it against us. I love that they’re aligned that way. I think that she sees him as a real ally, as her vice president. I think she finds that she picked wisely.

Release Date

2023 – 2023-00-00

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Debora Cahn

Directors

Alex Graves, Andrew Bernstein, Simon Cellan Jones, Tucker Gates

Writers

Peter Noah

The Diplomat is available to stream on Netflix. Check out the Season 3 trailer: