After four seasons of watching married diplomats and political power players Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) and Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) repeatedly switch between defending one another and going head-to-head on The Diplomat, viewers might assume series creator Debora Cahn is finally ready to calm their turbulent relationship. Russell and Sewell, however, insist that is nowhere near the case.
**Spoilers ahead for The Diplomat Season 4, now streaming on Netflix**
In a conversation with DECIDER about the latest season of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated political thriller, the stars discussed Kate and Hal’s ongoing emotional tug-of-war. They also addressed one especially divisive detail that could horrify viewers with strict bedroom rules: Hal climbing into bed beside Kate without taking off his shoes.
“I tried to make my case against it — or, actually, I didn’t — but I know Deb [Cahn] by now. When she wants something, she gets it. It’s pretty disgusting,” Sewell joked, with Russell voicing her agreement. “I’ve said before that sometimes I feel like I’m playing Hal, but in that scene I’m playing men, okay? That’s who I’m representing, and I apologize to everyone. I’d also like to point out that I’m the one insisting on it.”
As unforgettable as the shoe-in-bed moment may be for fans of the show’s famously unpredictable couple, it is hardly the season’s most dramatic development. The new episodes deliver a relentless cycle of arguments and reconciliations, along with high-stakes geopolitical shifts that repeatedly leave the audience stunned.
Russell and Sewell also shared their thoughts on several of the season’s biggest twists, including the startling conclusion to the premiere and the shocking events of the finale. Read on for DECIDER’s complete interview with the stars.
DECIDER: Hal has made plenty of questionable choices over the years, Rufus, but can we agree that getting into bed with his shoes on may be the worst of them all?
RUFUS SEWELL: I did try to get out of doing it — well, not exactly, but I know Deb [Cahn]. When she has a particular idea, she’s going to make it happen. It’s pretty gross.
KERI RUSSELL: It really is.
SEWELL: I’ve said this before: there are times when I feel I’m playing Hal, but in that scene I’m playing men in general. And I’m sorry, but that’s the group I’m representing. I want to apologize to everyone. The fact that I kept insisting on wearing the shoes makes it even worse.
Apology accepted. Now, onto the major twist: what did you think when you read that Grace had been targeted in an assassination attempt at the end of Episode 1?
SEWELL: You begin the episode thinking, “This is great,” and then you reach the ending and immediately think, “I need to know what happens next.”
RUSSELL: You also start wondering why she has such a grudge against Emmy winners.
SEWELL: You think you understand what the central conflict will be going into Season 3, and then the stakes suddenly rise and everything is pulled out from beneath you. That continues throughout the season, as viewers will know. It’s exciting for us when we get those scripts. We usually text each other a few exclamation points or a single word because we immediately understand what the other person is reacting to.
Was that the twist that produced the most exclamation points between you this season?
RUSSELL: That was definitely one of the biggest.
SEWELL: One of them, yes.
RUSSELL: The surprises just keep arriving. This season is not a calm or easy journey. It moves at full speed the entire time.
SEWELL: You can usually tell when a truly enormous twist is coming because, during the table read, the final lines on the last page are blacked out for most of the cast. Nobody sees them until the scene is read aloud. In the case of this season — and the previous one — we had already seen those lines because we needed to perform them. Everyone else in the room was discovering the moment in real time. As the page turns, you can sometimes hear people letting out a few nervous breaths before the reaction arrives.
RUSSELL: Those little moments of anticipation before everyone gasps.
SEWELL: And I’ve said this before, but one of the main pleasures is Ato [Essandoh] being there because his reactions are always so vocal and fantastically satisfying. And the reaction in the room at the very end of the last episode was really exciting because it just like, I read it and I thought, oh, you know, I had mixed, I mean, it’s a very powerful ending, but like I had mix feelings about it, just like how is that gonna land, et cetera? And then you just got this reaction in that room. Which was very exciting because it’s like watching it and reading it at the same time.
And speaking of that final episode, what do you think is going through Kate and Hal’s minds as they both walk up to Grace in that moment?
SEWELL: So many things I’m not going to tell you.
RUSSELL: Yeah, so many, I mean, it’s so many things at that moment. I think it’s such nice writing.
SEWELL: And also not quite knowing for sure. You don’t quite know for sure and I always think it’s very important you can see that we’re thinking but you can’t ever know what someone is thinking, but you just know that something is going on. And I think that mystery, that not quite-knowing is part of it.
RUSSELL: Yeah, like what are they gonna do? What are they going to do?
SEWELL: What are going to they do? And why? What are their reasons?
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Well, it just sets up an exciting Season 5.
SEWELL: Fingers crossed.
I have to ask you guys about Hal and Kate’s relationship, too. Did you know that there is an account on social media that solely makes edits of Hal and Kate? Every single day, a new one.
SEWELL: You’ve discovered me. In case you’re wondering what I’m doing when I’m not at work.
RUSSELL: That would be so great if it was you.
SEWELL: They’re very Hal-Heavy.
It’s just Rufus being like, “They need a Season 5!”
SEWELL: It’s just me and your voice.
RUSSELL: Oh my god.
SEWELL: I’ve done an effect on your voice, it’s a bit more screechy.
But fans of the show really do recognize that this is one of the most complex and beautiful couples on television at the moment. I’m eager to know what moments you’re most looking forward to them seeing from this season.
RUSSELL: Oh, so many gems. I mean, we have a long walk to go have dinner with the president and her husband. I love that scene, too. It’s a classic. A classic.
SEWELL: Just when she decides to drop some news on me that I’m gonna need to know before we get to dinner with the president that I could have appreciated learning a little earlier so I could go through all the stages of rage and grief. But I’m so smart.
RUSSELL: But I’m so smart and I just want to let you know because you’ll love it, you’ll love it.
SEWELL: She’s so proud of her little idea.
RUSSELL: That’s a great scene. I mean, I also love when they’re in trouble.
SEWELL: Anytime one of us has done something stupid or something. You know, we like a bit of losing, you know, like we like getting it wrong.
And Keri, I want to close by asking you about the chapel moment in Episode 1. What a powerful scene. I know [director] Alex Graves directed that episode and you’ve talked about him being an emotional pulse for the show. Talk a little about bringing that scene to life.
RUSSELL: Yeah, Alex really, he is our general, like our fearless general, who leads us through. He’s our favorite director on this show, and you know, he’s worked for so long on these giant big shows like Game of Thrones and all these massive series, you know, massive war, tons of extras, locations.
SEWELL: But also the detail, you know, he’s a master of both.
RUSSELL: That’s what he’s so good at so I love that he’s willing to come do our show because our show is not always so big and he has such a love of that intimacy and the truth. He grew up with Deborah on The West Wing, they both started on that show, so that chapel scene — yeah I think he just has such a visual art to him.
SEWELL: He’s such a master of the big stuff, as well.
RUSSELL: And I’m so glad it was him. He always starts and ends our seasons. He does the first two and the last two.
SEWELL: We love all our directors, but yeah.
RUSSELL: But he’s the thief.
The Diplomat Season 4 is now on Netflix.
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