Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) was never meant to have a quiet posting — and that’s exactly the point. The Diplomat returns to Netflix on October 16th, 2025, promising not just more diplomacy-as-combat but an even shakier board. Bradley Whitford — forever associated with The West Wing — joins the cast as Todd Penn, husband to President Grace Penn (Allison Janney). It doesn’t feel like mere stunt casting but almost an inevitability: if you’re going to back Kate Wyler into a corner, why not bring in someone who already knows their way around an Oval Office?

Whitford admits he said yes immediately: “I was thrilled when I heard that Debora [Cahn, creator and showrunner] wanted me to do something on the show,” he told Tudum. “I had no idea what it was, but I love the show. I was jealous of the writing. I love Keri, I love Rufus. And yes, I’ve also heard that Allison Janney is good at acting”, he teases. “It’s an amazing cast.”

Showrunner Debora Cahn describes the new season with precision: “Season 3 flips the chessboard,” she said. “Kate lives the particular nightmare that is getting exactly what you wanted.”

Picking Up After the Blast

Season 2 ended in darkness: a London explosion left Hal (Rufus Sewell) and Stuart (Ato Essandoh) injured, and the web of intrigue unraveled to reveal that the attack on the British ship was an inside job, orchestrated by Margaret Roylin and Vice President Grace Penn. Hal broke every protocol and called the president directly, who promptly suffered a fatal heart attack, putting Grace in charge.

And it wasn’t just geopolitics that took the hit — Kate and Hal’s marriage was shaken, too. Russell sees that as part of the appeal: “What I love about their relationship is that they seem incredibly immature and childish sometimes, but to me, it’s an adult marriage,” she said. “They’re so catty and yet so connected. I really feel like they could be divorced and still have the same chemistry when they walked into a room.”

Season 3: Kate Gets What She Never Wanted

When Season 3 opens, Kate has just accused the vice president of orchestrating a terrorist attack — and admitted she wants the job. Now Grace Penn is president. Hal may have been indirectly responsible for Rayburn’s death, but that hasn’t stopped him from pushing his campaign to make Kate the next VP.

If Season 2 was about discovering who was pulling the strings, Season 3 is about whether Kate can pull any of them without becoming what she fears most. The series has always been interested in the machinery of diplomacy — the small humiliations, the bureaucratic traps, the quiet conversations that decide wars before they’re declared. With Grace Penn now in the White House, the stakes are no longer just international but existential.

Don’t expect clean resolutions: there will be uneasy alliances, moral dilemmas, and a Kate Wyler with nowhere left to hide.