Cover Political thrillers like ‘The Diplomat’ mirror the journey of Keri Russell’s Kate Wyler, a women at the sharp end of power (Photo: IMDB)
Political thrillers like ‘The Diplomat’ mirror the journey of Keri Russell’s Kate Wyler, a women at the sharp end of power (Photo: IMDB)
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Finished season 4 on Netflix? These political thrillers like ‘The Diplomat’ put brilliant, uncompromising women at the heart of statecraft
When The Diplomat returned to Netflix, it reminded us why it works: not because statecraft is glamorous, but because competence, ego and marriage collide in the same room. Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) and President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) are written as strategists first and symbols second, which is rarer than it should be. If you have finished the eight episodes and want political thrillers like The Diplomat, the following series share that DNA: women at the sharp end of power, bargaining with patriarchal institutions, bending moral lines and paying personally for it. Some burn slowly, others sprint, but each rewards a binge, and none treats its women as decoration. Here’s where to start.
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‘The Americans’ (2013–2018): Keri Russell as an unwavering espionage strategist
Above Keri Russell as KGB officer Elizabeth Jennings in ‘The Americans’
Before Kate Wyler, there was Elizabeth Jennings: Keri Russell’s KGB officer posing as a suburban American wife in 1980s Virginia. Created by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg, the series treats espionage as an extension of marriage, with every tactical decision testing loyalty as much as nerve. Russell plays Elizabeth with discipline, never flinching when the mission demands cruelty. Her husband and partner in deception, Philip (Matthew Rhys), is just as formidable. Across six seasons, The Americans remains the benchmark for slow-burn espionage and the first stop for The Diplomat devotees.
‘Borgen’ (2010–2013, 2022): Sidse Babett Knudsen as a prime minister navigating coalition battles
Above Sidse Babett Knudsen as Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg in ‘Borgen’
Danish drama Borgen follows Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen), an underdog centrist who unexpectedly becomes prime minister of Denmark and will not be sidelined. Creator Adam Price shows what leadership costs at home, as coalition management slowly unravels her marriage. In the fourth season, Borgen: Power & Glory, Nyborg serves as foreign minister, facing pressure from the United States, China and Russia after oil is discovered in Greenland. It is diplomacy as a daily exercise in moral compromise. Fans of Kate Wyler’s ethical juggling will feel at home.
‘Slow Horses’ (2022–present): Kristin Scott Thomas as a calculating MI5 power player
Above Kristin Scott Thomas is MI5 power broker Diana Taverner in ‘Slow Horses’
Not every power player wears a diplomat’s pinstripes. In Slow Horses, Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) is MI5’s deputy director general (famously known as “second desk”), a cool strategist who weighs political leverage before conscience, much like Grace Penn. Her sparring with the unkempt Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who rules Slough House, MI5’s purgatory for disgraced agents, fuels the show’s caustic wit. Adapted from Mick Herron’s novels, it is among the political thrillers like The Diplomat that skewers institutional folly best, and its six-episode seasons fly by.
‘Madam Secretary’ (2014–2019): Téa Leoni as a rule-bending Secretary of State
Above Téa Leoni as Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord in ‘Madam Secretary’
Téa Leoni stars as Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst and political science professor whom President Conrad Dalton (Keith Carradine) appoints secretary of state after her predecessor dies in a plane crash. Over six seasons on CBS from 2014 to 2019, she bends diplomatic protocol, thinks outside the box and balances world crises with family life. Madam Secretary is more hopeful than The Diplomat, offering an empowering insider’s view of foreign policy and a worthy counterpoint to Kate Wyler’s weary realpolitik.
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‘The Veil’ (2024): Elisabeth Moss as an undercover MI6 agent
Above Elisabeth Moss as undercover MI6 agent Imogen Salter in ‘The Veil’
The Veil sends MI6 agent Imogen Salter (Elisabeth Moss) undercover as an NGO worker to a refugee camp on the border between Syria and Turkey. Her task is to win the trust of Adilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan), whom several agencies suspect of masterminding a terrorist plot. What follows is a psychological standoff stretching from Istanbul to Paris, driven by verbal puzzles rather than shootouts. Created by Steven Knight of Peaky Blinders, this compact six-episode FX on Hulu miniseries is gritty and unshowy.
‘Bodyguard’ (2018): Keeley Hawes as an ambitious Home Secretary
Above Keeley Hawes as Home Secretary Julia Montague in ‘Bodyguard’
Jed Mercurio’s Bodyguard puts home secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes) in the firing line. Montague is ambitious, polarising and determined to push through controversial national security legislation, which makes her a target. Assigned to protect her is David Budd (Richard Madden), a traumatised British Army veteran with the Metropolitan Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection branch. An assassination plot exposes corruption between cabinet, counter-terrorism command and domestic intelligence. Across six episodes, this BBC and Netflix miniseries is the most pulse-racing pick here.
‘The Bureau’ (2015–2020): women handlers and deep-cover agents in French intelligence
Above Sara Giraudeau as deep-cover agent Marina Loiseau in ‘The Bureau’
Éric Rochant’s The Bureau takes you inside France’s DGSE, where agents live for years under fabricated identities. Though Mathieu Kassovitz anchors the cast, the women shape its tone: Marie-Jeanne Duthilleul (Florence Loiret Caille) is a handler who rises to run the department, while Marina Loiseau (Sara Giraudeau) is a brilliant young seismologist groomed for deep cover. Psychiatrist Dr Laurène Balmes (Léa Drucker) completes the picture. Across five seasons, it is among the most authentic political thrillers like The Diplomat for tradecraft fans.
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After more than a decade in lifestyle media, Clifford has mastered the art of writing seriously about things that are fun—and writing fun things about people who take themselves very seriously. At Tatler Asia, he helped steer its flagship lists, Tatler’s Most Influential and Asia’s Most Stylish. And today, he leads T-Labs, Tatler Asia’s content innovation hub, where he continues the noble pursuit of lifestyle storytelling, spinning stories on wealth, entertainment, necessary style, Hallyu, Hollywood, beauty and more for audiences across Asia.
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