‘The Diplomat’ Teaser Debuts Bradley Whitford as Allison Janney’s First Gentleman (VIDEO)

Kelli Boyle June 12, 2025, 10:30 am

Comments

Have you ever imagined a world where CJ Gregg and Josh Lyman got married on The West Wing? Well, imagine no more. The Diplomat is staging a West Wing reunion in Season 3 with Bradley Whitford set to play Allison Janney‘s husband, Todd Penn, and Netflix has just released the first teaser for their onscreen reunion.

Janney plays Vice President Grace Penn in the Emmy-nominated Netflix political drama, making Whitford the second gentleman. But as viewers well know, the Season 2 finale ended on a massive cliffhanger that saw Penn get promoted to world’s highest office in the season’s final seconds. From White House staff to White House residents! The Diplomat Season 3 teaser (above) is packed with clips of Janney and Whitford and teases the immediate aftermath of President William Rayburn’s (Michael McKean) death. From the looks of it, Whitford will have considerable scenes with Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell.

Here’s everything we know about The Diplomat Season 3, which filmed in New York and London and is set to premiere this year, including photos from Season 3 and what Whitford’s casting means after that explosive Season 2 finale cliffhanger that saw Grace’s life change forever.

When does The Diplomat Season 3 premiere?

Allison Janney as Grace Penn, Bradley Whitford as Todd Penn in The Diplomat Season 3 Episode 6 (Clifton Prescod / Netflix)

The Diplomat was renewed in early October 2024 before its Season 2 premiere on Halloween. Netflix announced on Thursday, January 30 that Season 3 will come out in 2025. The June 12 teaser reveals that it’s going to be a fall 2025 premiere, with an exact release date to come at a later time. An official release date will be announced at a later time.

The Diplomat Season 3 started production in New York and London in 2024.

What is The Diplomat about?

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler in The Diplomat Season 3 Episode 5 (Liam Daniel / Netflix)

The Diplomat stars Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell as Ambassador Kate Wyler and Hal Wyler. Kate, the US ambassador in London, and Hal, a former ambassador himself, are in a complicated marriage directly affected by how they operate at work. But the work and its dangers are the show’s main appeal.

‘The Diplomat’ Season 2 Review with Senior Critic Matt Roush

In Season 2, struggling to rebuild the lives that broke and the team that split apart, Kate’s worst fears unfold: The attack that brought her to the UK didn’t come from a rival nation, it came from inside the British government. As Kate chases the truth, her only real ally is her almost-ex-husband Hal, very much alive, and very much involved. She faces a fraught marriage, a complex dynamic with British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi), and a threatening visit from Vice President Grace Penn.

Kate learned she was being primed to replace VP Penn at the end of Season 1, and she ended up crossing paths with the VP in Season 2. There was an admiration amid the subliminal rivalry between them. Russell’s character has serious apprehensions about taking on the role, which would require her to be more glamorous and performative than she finds valuable. But Penn makes clear that a clean, stylized aesthetic is an unavoidable prerequisite to being taken seriously as a woman in global politics.

Kate wasn’t privy to the secrets of Penn’s top-secret work, leading to a distrust in the VP that she called out in the back half of Season 2. As Kate confronted Penn in the high-intensity finale, Hal acted on his own and called President William Rayburn (Michael McKean). The president died on the call, and the season ended with Penn’s Secret Service rushing out onto the field where she and Kate were sparring.

In Season 3, Kate lives the particular nightmare that is getting what you want. She just accused Vice President Grace Penn of hatching a terrorist plot and admitted she’s after the VP’s job. But now the President is dead, Kate’s husband Hal (Sewell) may have inadvertently killed him, and Grace Penn is leader of the free world. None of this slows Hal’s campaign to land Kate the vice presidency. Kate steps into a role she never wanted, with a freedom she never expected, an increasingly complicated friendship with Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (Gyasi), and an unnerving bond with First Gentleman Todd Penn (Whitford).

Who is in The Diplomat cast?

Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler, Allison Janney as Grace Penn, Bradley Whitford as Todd Penn, Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in The Diplomat Season 3 Episode 6 (Clifton Prescod / Netflix)

In addition to Russell, Sewel, Gyasi, and Janney, The Diplomat stars Ali Ahn as CIA Station Chief Eidra Park, Ato Essandoh as Stuart Hayford, Kate’s Chief of Staff, and Rory Kinnear as British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge. Recurring cast includes Celia Imrie, Nana Mensah, and Miguel Sandoval.

Deadline first reported that Whitford would join the Season 3 cast as Janney’s first gentleman. Series creator Debora Cahn was a writer on The West Wing, which is no doubt what made this reunion possible.