Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ Season 4 earns praise and mixed notes from critics

From a desperate opening twist to a maddeningly subservient Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), the latest season of Debora Cahn's elevated chamber drama inadvertently dilutes its power by chasing more.

Anyone concerned that The Diplomat might struggle to live up to its past greatness can breathe a sigh of relief.The Netflix political drama returned on Thursday morning, with critics clambering to hail it as the show’s best outing to date.Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell are back in action in the new run of episodes, where they’re once again joined by The West Wing alum Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford, with early reviews heaping praise on the whole cast as well as the writing and dialogue in the new instalments.Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell in The Diplomat season 4Here’s a selection of the glowing praise for The Diplomat season four so far…The Guardian (5/5) “There are few things as entertaining as The Diplomat in a bad mood, even if the stress induced by its doomsday theatrics requires much diaphragmatic breathing and the odd diplomatic sprint to the loo.“Debora Cahn’s transatlantic thriller has long been fascinated with the real-world consequences of its politicos’ many huffs, its every twist infused with the suspicion that humanity is a bad hair day away from Armageddon.“This time, the stakes and cortisol levels are even higher and Kate once again finds herself trying desperately to avert catastrophes political and personal.”Radio Times (5/5) “The new run raises the stakes in terms of the fictional world events it portrays, but that’s not why it’s the best season yet: the show with the best-written dialogue on TV just got even sharper.”Digital Spy (4/5) “The season four premiere ends with the kind of twist you’d usually expect to see at the end of a season, as if the writers wanted to remind us that they can still pull the rug out from us in grander ways than they did last time. Subsequent episodes don’t let up either, amping up the chaos more than this show has ever done before.”The Telegraph“The fourth series of this increasingly mad transatlantic thriller demonstrates that top-table politics hasn’t been this entertaining since The West Wing.”Critics are calling season 4 of The Diplomat a high point for the Netflix seriesTV Insider (10/10) “I’m not always a fan of the binge model practiced by Netflix and copied (often to their detriment) by some of their rivals.“But when a rip-roaring, thrillingly riveting, and sensationally entertaining event comes along like the fourth season of the Emmy-winning political drama The Diplomat, I get it.”Collider (10/10) “Coming off a near-perfect [third season], The Diplomat raises the bar yet again with its best chapter to date“ It builds on the foundation of three excellent seasons of character development and political intrigue while earning every explosive revelation over eight episodes, taking the series to a whole new level.”ScreenRant (8/10) “The Diplomat has managed to make itself better with every instalment, and with season four’s ambitious balance and chaotically structured message, there’s every reason to believe that there’s still nowhere to go but up.”Bradley Whitford and Allison Janney are reunited in the new episodes of The DiplomatIGN (9/10) “The new episodes prove one of the best political shows on TV keeps getting better. The writing is superb, the production is rich and layered, and the supporting cast is stacked top to bottom.“With a keen sense of wit and a (mostly) realistic take on the world at large, The Diplomat is truly a show for and of our times.”Decider“By looking to the real world for inspiration and tapping into its deep well of talent both in front of the camera and behind, the show goes to a new level, making it as important and necessary for the time as it is entertaining.“It’s safe to say that The Diplomat season four is a feat of true storytelling.”The Diplomat season four is now streaming on Netflix.MORE NETFLIX NEWS:Our Guide To The 11 Shows And Films You Should Be Streaming On Netflix In October 20269 Biggest Differences Between Netflix's East Of Eden And Past Versions Of The StorySeparating Fact From Fiction In Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story

The Diplomat is indisputably one of the finest shows on television and as necessary as it has ever been.