The Diplomat Sets Terrifying Season 2 Release Date

In what could be a harbinger of the hell that awaits Keri Russell’s titular emissary in the wake of that hair-raising Season 1 finale, Netflix announced Thursday that The Diplomat Season 2 will drop on Oct. 31.

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As you may or may not remember, Season 1 of the political dramedy — which premiered on the streamer way back in April 2023 — ended with Russell’s Kate Wyler and David Gyasi’s foreign secretary Austin Dennison in serious jeopardy after they simultaneously uncovered the conspiracy behind the British aircraft carrier attack. When Season 2 debuts on Halloween, the crisis will quite literally still be unfolding.

“It will pick up right away,” a Diplomat source previously confirmed to TVLine , before noting that the series “has a really compressed timeline — something like three weeks pass in Season 1 — so it makes sense that Season 2 would start moments later.” (It also explains why, in Season 2’s first official image above, Kate is wearing the same red gown she adorned in the finale.)

As we reported earlier this year, Allison Janney will be among Season 2 ‘s new faces. The West Wing vet joins the ensemble as U.S. Vice President Grace Penn.

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Netflix renewed The Diplomat for a second season just 10 days after the release of Season 1. The decision was a no-brainer: Upon its debut, the show immediately shot to No. 1 on the streamer’s consumer-facing Top 10 list, with 57.48M hours viewed in its first weekend.

“Fans around the world are loving every minute of The Diplomat ’s gripping and propulsive drama, and embracing Keri’s powerful performance,” Netflix’s VP of Drama Series Jinny Howe said in a statement at the time. “After that jaw-dropping cliffhanger, we can’t wait for them to see what the amazing visionary team of [series creator] Debora Cahn, [and fellow EPs] Janice Williams, Alex Graves and Keri have in store for Season 2.”

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