‘The Diplomat’ Creator Officially Reveals Why They Had to Kill Off [Spoiler]

Editor’s note: This interview contains spoilers for The Diplomat Season 4.

Summary

• The Diplomat creator Debora Cahn reveals why they had to kill off Dennison.
• She also breaks down why Jodie Whittaker was the perfect person to take on Prime Minister Vaughn.
• Cahn talks about the “leap of faith” it took to write that finale cliffhanger.

Debora Cahn is a master at writing compelling political shows, having gotten her start on The West Wing and penning several episodes in the last season of Homeland. The Diplomat continues this trend. The first show that Cahn created herself, The Diplomat has been a success with both audiences and critics, claiming the top spot in Nielsen’s streaming charts during Season 3 and being nominated for 10 Emmys, with Allison Janney winning one for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Each season, it’s hard to imagine how the next installment could possibly improve, and yet, Cahn and her team manage it every time. Season 4 of The Diplomat is truly better than ever, with even more shocking twists, sharper writing, and impressive performances. The season picks up shortly after the Season 3 cliffhanger, which saw President Grace Penn (Janney) and Vice President Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) secretly steal a weapon of mass destruction from a Russian submarine in British waters. The season explores the consequences of that, as well as throws some new challenges into the mix with its signature combination of nail-biting tension and hilarious wit.

Collider got the chance to speak to Cahn about her work on the season. During the conversation, she discussed the heartbreaking decision to kill off Dennison (David Gyasi), why she wanted audiences to get an intimate look into Trowbridge’s (Rory Kinnear) point of view, how Jodie Whittaker got cast as the new prime minister, and more.

‘The Diplomat’ Showrunner Explains Why They Had to Kill Off Dennison

“We had what started to feel like an unrealistic universe.”

COLLIDER: Congratulations on the season. I loved it so much. There were so many, of course, shocking moments, twists and turns as always. One of the biggest, I think, was when we found out that Dennison had died at the end of Episode 3. I’m curious if you can talk about the decision to kill him off and the chain reaction that sets off.

DEBORA CAHN: It was terrible! It was a terrible decision to have to make. But we had, at that point, been filming in the UK for a few years, and during the time that we were there, there were five different prime ministers, and our show had only had one. We had what started to feel like an unrealistic universe where Kate came in, and she had to learn what the job is and meet all the people, but then she did, and then she sort of knew what she was dealing with and knew how to handle it. It just felt unrealistic. The moments when you have your feet on the ground, and you actually know who the players are in a government, the whole fucking thing changes and turns upside down, and I wanted her and the entire team to have to manage that.

I also wanted to have her go through the disorientation of believing that she had been dealing with the Trowbridge government, and Trowbridge was unreliable, and unpredictable, and not in control of his own actions, and that if only somebody sane was there, everything would be okay. And the horrible, sinking feeling that you get when you get exactly what you wanted — which is somebody just like you who thinks the same way and has the same priorities — and then it turns out they think you’re the problem. That seemed like a good challenge.

‘The Diplomat’ Showrunner Discusses the Differences Between Trowbridge and Vaughn

“I wanted a much different energy — the kind of person that you instantly feel comfortable with.”

That leads so well into my next question. Episode 4 sees this sort of break in form because we get Trowbridge’s point of view. Why was it important that viewers get so intimately into his headspace right before he resigns?

CAHN: I had such a good time answering for myself the question of, “What does he see in this moment? When he pauses and looks at somebody kind of sideways, what is going on in there?” And the answer to that question was so fun. I was like, “Oh, we’re going to do the whole episode like this.”

Of course, we get the excellent Jodie Whittaker coming in as Prime Minister Vaughn. How did casting her come about, and then what was it like writing for such a different energy for everybody to play off of?

CAHN: Julie Schubert, our casting director in New York, is an absolute genius, and Jodie was her idea. I was not familiar with Jodie’s work, and I went and started watching, and I was like, “Oh my god. She’s amazing.” I didn’t want it to be somebody who was going to feel like Rory Kinnear if he was a girl. I wanted a much different energy — the kind of person that you instantly feel comfortable with and instantly like — and then see Kate go through that, and then realize she has no purchase on this person.

‘The Diplomat’ Showrunner Breaks Down the Romances at the Heart of the Series

“I think they both make terrible, terrible, delightful mistakes.”

There are also two marriages, of course, at the core of this season, but we also see Eidra and Stuart’s relationship really shift and blossom. I’m curious what you think their newer relationship says in conversation with the established marriages of the show.

CAHN: We’re giving ourselves the opportunity to look at kind of the lifecycle of a relationship: in the beginning, in the middle, and a more mature relationship. One thing that I find gratifying is that Todd and Grace don’t really seem like they’re on more solid ground than anybody else. In a way, when I look at long-term relationships, I actually find it encouraging that you see people wobbling 60 years into their marriage like they’re just getting to know each other. Everybody’s a new person every however many years, and so that feels authentic.

But I found it so sweet and lovely to be like, “What happens when they have to really problem solve as a couple for the first time? What happens when they have the first really big fight where somebody’s got to apologize big?” Those firsts are, like, tectonic. When they happen, they feel so calamitous, so it was really wonderful to be able to see the two of them dealing with that. And we love both of them so much. I think they both make terrible, terrible, delightful mistakes, so it was a lot of fun, and they’re such great actors.

‘The Diplomat’ Showrunner Took a Leap of Faith With that Season 4 Cliffhanger

“We can push ourselves off a pretty big cliff and figure out how to not belly flop on the other side.”

Vince Gilligan has famously said that he paints himself into a corner and has to figure out how to write his way out. I’m curious if that’s similar to how you work with all of the twists and turns. And then, as a follow-up, how much of Season 5 do you have mapped out in your head, and what can you tell us about it?

CAHN: Oh, I can’t tell you anything about anything in the future! But Vince Gilligan is right about most things — there’s a certain leap of faith that you have to make that says you’ll figure something out. People face things in their lives that are completely unexpected, and they were prepared for this, and they spent their life building this, and suddenly, that’s wiped off the planet, and they’re off in a different direction. People do figure it out, and feel like I have a great writers’ room working with me, and I do take the leap of faith that says, “We can push ourselves off a pretty big cliff and figure out how to not belly flop on the other side.” But maybe we will. Who knows?

I sincerely doubt that! Every season just gets better and better.

The Diplomat Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.