A fatal crash in Amritsar
The fourth season of The Diplomat arrived on Netflix on October 15, and it opens with a death that removes one of the drama's central figures. Austin Dennison, the British foreign secretary played by David Gyasi, is killed in a helicopter crash in Amritsar, India. The Indian prime minister was also involved in the same crash. British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge, played by Rory Kinnear, delivers the news to Hal Wyler, the vice president of the United States, played by Rufus Sewell, during a tense meeting in London.[S1]
Keri Russell, who plays US ambassador to the UK Kate Wyler, described the storyline as powerful and devastating. Kate and Dennison shared a romantic tension, and although they plotted an affair, they only flirted and never acted on it. Russell said that when people are in service but traveling, everything becomes heightened, and the bonds formed away from home and everyday distractions are extraordinarily deep and passionate. She called the character pivotal for Kate and said losing him is monumental, though she also considers it realistic for that world.[S1]
Creator Debora Cahn called Dennison's death a terrible thing. She explained that the show had reached a point where its foreign secretary and prime minister had been in office for the length of time the real UK had seen five changes of government, while the series kept the same people throughout. She felt it would be disingenuous not to make the characters face the challenge that the moment relationships are created and a foothold is established in a country, everything changes and the process starts over. In her view, the nature of this work is starting over all the time.[S1]
Trowbridge resigns and Vaughan takes over
Earlier in the season, Kate Wyler tells the new British foreign secretary that Trowbridge had attempted to kill Margaret Roylin after it came to light that Roylin was involved in the attack on HMS Courageous, which resulted in the deaths of 41 sailors. That disclosure seems to lead, directly or indirectly, to Trowbridge resigning as prime minister. In episode four, he announces that one hour earlier he had spoken with His Majesty the King, who accepted his resignation as prime minister.[S1]
Following a protracted political fight, Bethan Vaughan beats an antisemitic and xenophobic opponent to become only the second prime minister to appear during The Diplomat's run. The casting was kept under wraps: Jodie Whittaker, most famous for playing the Thirteenth Doctor on Doctor Who and for starring in Broadchurch, takes on the role of Vaughan. A character comments that she sounds like a real crackerjack, and it is later revealed that Vaughan had previously been an acid house enthusiast.[S1]
Russell praised Whittaker's performance. She said that when the character was written she was curious about who would be chosen because the options were all over the shop. Cahn told her she wanted the new prime minister to be someone who is a peer to Kate, so that in their scenes the other character was not above her. Russell noted that Allison Janney's Grace Penn already provides that dynamic, but Cahn wanted someone of Russell's era and peer group, in a real position of power, doing it well and able to present herself in a way Kate cannot quite muster yet. Russell added that Whittaker did it very well and is wonderful.[S1]
