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Keri Russell is Kate Wyler in Netflix's 'The Diplomat'
SERIES – Kate and Hal are back in season 2 of The Diplomat this Thursday, October 31 for new political adventures, and more. But to what extent is the gripping storyline of the Netflix series with Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell faithful to what ambassadors experience on a daily basis in the four corners of the globe? To find out, The HuffPost asked a former ambassador for her opinion.
Sylvie Bermann is a professional diplomat, French ambassador to China between 2011 and 2014, and to Russia between 2017 and 2019. And between the two, she was stationed in the United Kingdom, like the main character of the series, Kate Wyler , Ambassador of the United States to our neighbors across the Channel. If she says she liked the series which she describes as “ very lively, rhythmic and amusing “, she explains however that the plot holds according to her ” much more fiction than documentary ».
As a reminder, in The DiplomatKate is promoted to ambassador of the United States to the United Kingdom, and with the help of her husband Hal, a former renowned ambassador, discovers a national conspiracy involving elected officials and other states. In parallel with these strategic intrigues, she often has to navigate on sight with a complicated Prime Minister, a team a little resistant to her overly cash-based methods, and her feelings for a certain attractive foreign minister.
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The first unrealistic aspect according to our expert concerns the relationships that Kate Wyler maintains with the powers that be. “ An ambassador does not enter the office, or worse, the bedroom of the Prime Minister like that. These are not at all daily relationships with the all-powerful at the end of the phone,” specifies Sylvie Bermann. And when asked about possible personal relationships (and more if affinities), the answer is even clearer. “ One can become friends with counterparts from other countries. But with officials from the country where we are stationed, it is not credible. It would be too difficult, the relationship must remain formal “, she says.
The real political weight of an ambassador
Another sticking point according to Sylvie Bermann: the real decision-making power conferred on Kate. Contrary to what the series illustrates, an ambassador does not become part of a military, political or anti-terrorist strategy. “ We are not dictating the British position, it is a very imperialist vision. In the series, the ambassador almost decides the position of the Foreign Office (the foreign affairs office, editor’s note). The President of the United States may call the Prime Minister, but not the Ambassador. She is not the one who is going to save the world, but here she is presented almost as a spy », laughs the one who published her memoirs under the title Madam Ambassador.
Kate's relationships with Prime Minister Throwbridge (Rory Kinnear) and Foreign Minister Dennison (David Gyasi) are, according to her, fantasized, because they also emphasize a single aspect of the profession. “ It's really multifaceted, we meet MPs, university presidents, entrepreneurs. The series is focused on geopolitics because it is more thrilling, but it is much broader”advances Sylvie Bermann. A geopolitical context moreover rather faithful to reality according to her. And that's not the only point of the series.
DANIEL LEAL / AFP
Sylvie Bermann, then French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, alongside Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on July 14, 2016 in London
The points of consistency of The Diplomat
The other aspect very present in The Diplomatthese are the tenuous relations that Kate maintains with Eidra Graham, the head of the London office of the CIA (played by Ali Ahn). Certain representations are true according to Sylvie Bermann, on the frequency of relations between an ambassador and the secret services for example.
And on the way in which information is exchanged, it is (rather) true too: “ It's even more secure than in the series. All sensitive discussions take place in dull rooms in embassies, which we also see in the series. Thick walls, code locks, designed like a Faraday cage-style submarine, so that no information gets out ».
The Diplomat is therefore, on this point, not very far from reality. Just like the relationship between the ambassador and her number 2, Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh) “ For once, it's realistic: their proximity, their permanent exchanges. They are professional diplomats who know the country perfectly, and the series shows this very well », confirms Sylvie Bermann.
/ ALEX BAILEY/NETFLIX
Ato Essandoh is Stuart Heyford and Keri Russell is Kate Wyler in “The Diplomat”
Same thing when it comes to glamor and glitz. The series highlights this aspect of the ambassadorial function, and it is very real. “ Behind the caricatured cliché of Ferrero Rocher evenings, it's completely part of the job: cocktails, parties, inaugurations, exhibitions etc. The representation function is essential”explains Sylvie Bermann.
For the former ambassador there is therefore a concern for realism, but insufficient: “The places are the real places, I know it, I’ve been there. The geopolitical context is close to reality, the framework is rather respected. But it’s still more of a Hollywood scenario. »
Kate Wyler, not a real “Diplomat”
For Sylvie Bermann, the inconsistencies are actually linked to the character of Kate Wyler itself. First there are the circumstances of his appointment: “ For large countries like the USA, ambassadors are almost always what we call political appointeemajor donors who helped the party win. Not professional diplomats like Kate and Hal. »
And then, the posture of the ambassador as it is represented in the Netflix series. “ She seems to be discovering the profession at times and asks novice questions. And then she doesn't have the normal behavior of an ambassador. You have to be diplomatic, literally, but that doesn't stop you from knowing how to make yourself heard “, she specifies.
Is Kate Wyler's character incompatible with her function? Sylvie Bermann seems to think so. “We have to be honest, Kate is totally hysterical. We always work in a courteous manner, relationships are never based on emotion, unlike in the series. But without that, viewers would be bored”concludes Sylvie Bermann.
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