''The Diplomat'' is an upcoming British

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The ...

series written by Ben Richards and directed by Jill Robertson and Jenny Paddon. It stars

Sophie Rundle Sophie Rundle (born 21 April 1988) is an English actress, best known for portraying Ada Thorne in the BBC One historical crime drama television series ''Peaky Blinders'', Ann Walker in BBC One and HBO's period drama '' Gentleman Jack'', Vicky B ...

as Laura Simmonds, a diplomat living in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, who works to protect several British nationals who finds themselves in trouble. The series is produced by

BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...

and

World Productions World Productions is a British television production company, founded on 20 March 1990 by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett, and owned by ITV plc following a takeover in 2017. History The company's first major series was the police drama '' Betwe ...

for

Alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

Plot

The series follows British diplomat Laura Simmonds (

), who, with her Barcelona Consul colleague and friend Alba (Serena Manteghi), is determined to fight in order to protect British nationals who are involved in a series of conflicts in Barcelona.

Cast

as Laura Simmonds * Serena Manteghi as Alba Ortiz * Dylan Brady as Carl Hyndley *

Laia Costa Laia Costa Bertrán () (born February 18, 1985) is a Spanish actress who has worked in Spain, Russia, Germany, Argentina, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States. Life and career Costa was born in Barcelona, Spain. Costa obtained a degree ...

as Mariana Cabell *

Steven Cree Steven Cree (born 29 February 1980) is a Scottish film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as Ian Murray in the Starz television series '' Outlander''. His other work includes the films '' Brave'' (2012), '' 300: Rise of ...

as Sam Henderson *

Danny Sapani Danny Sapani (born 15 November 1970) is a British actor who works in British, American, and Indian films. He is best known for appearing in ''Misfits'', '' Doctor Who'', ''Penny Dreadful'', ''The Crown'', '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' and '' Bl ...

as Colin Sutherland *

Isak Férriz Isaac "Isak" Férriz Álvaro (born 20 June 1979) is an Andorran-born actor and director based in Barcelona. Biography Born in Andorra la Vella on 20 June 1979, Férriz's parents were originally from the area of Gràcia in Barcelona, which he r ...

as Inspector Castells * Bert Seymour as Seth Miller
Philipp Boos
as Fabian Hartmann

Production

Development

On 8 July 2020, ''The Diplomat'' was commissioned by British

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

channel

in partnership with

as the third

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...

Original for Alibi. Executive producer and UKTV drama commissioner, Philippa Collie Cousins stated that both main characters aura Simmonds and Alba Ortiz"are contrasting professional working women dealing with murder, abductions and organised crime alongside managing their careers and love lives." In regards to the writing and storyline, Cousins stated that "it is ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...

'' meets '' Spooks'' for 2021, a feisty workplace drama set in Barcelona with cracking dialogue, abundant crime and a surprising series arc. Television to stay in for by the very talented Ben Richards. I am very excited to work with such an expert lead writer as Ben, but equally excited to add talented up and coming writers to the writing team."

Casting

On 25 April 2022, Sophie Rundle was cast as lead character Laura Simmonds.

Filming

Filming began in April 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diplomat (Tv Series), The 2023 British television series debuts 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British political television series British political drama television series British thriller television series English-language television shows Television series by BBC Studios Television series by World Productions Television shows set in Barcelona Television shows filmed in Spain UKTV original programming Upcoming drama television series Works about diplomats