Allison Janney & Bradley Whitford Talk the ‘West Wing’ Magic Behind to ‘The Diplomat’

The Diplomat creator Debora Cahn is no stranger to political dramas. She was a writer and producer on The West Wing and Homeland before creating the Emmy-nominated Netflix series that stars Keri Russell as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Cahn staged a West Wing reunion for herself when casting Allison Janney as Vice President Grace Penn in The Diplomat Season 2, and she did it again in Season 3 by casting Bradley Whitford as Grace’s husband, Todd Penn, who is introduced after Grace becomes the president. Janney and Whitford tell TV Insider that they weren’t worried about West Wing nostalgia impacting the viewing experience. In fact, they think it only strengthens the narrative for their characters.

Janney and Whitford played White House Press Secretary CJ Cregg and Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, respectively, in The West Wing (1999-2006). Janney won four Emmys for her performance on the NBC drama, with Whitford winning one. They’re back in the White House in The Diplomat Season 3, which premiered in full on October 16, but this time as the first couple. Janney says that she was excited to reunite with Whitford in a political drama showing how the sausage gets made in the U.S. government, but that the shows are very different.

“I knew that there was a lot of hype about it and that West Wing fans were excited about our reunion. Frankly, I was, too,” Janney tells us. “Debora, she might have had some initial qualms about it, but I think once you see us in these roles, these are completely different people [who] will not remind you of Josh or CJ.”

There isn’t enough West Wing nostalgia to be distracting. “I think that will fade away quickly,” the Oscar winner says, “and you’ll be invested in the characters that we are playing on this show, which is a very different show than The West Wing.”

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“I didn’t have any hesitation at all,” Whitford adds. “I don’t have hesitation about a genre.” That much is clear, given his Emmy-winning turn on The Handmaid’s Tale, another political drama — albeit a much more dystopian one. Whitford argues that his and Janney’s onscreen history adds depth to their Diplomat roles.

“What you want is great writing, a great writer, who’s happened upon what I think is a brilliant idea of looking at the negotiations that go on around the world, partially through the lens of the power struggles within relationships,” Whitford says. “It’s just such a great idea for a show. I feel like it helped us bring our history into these totally different characters in a totally different journey. But our history together, and I think for the audience, will just make it look layered and historical.”

Cahn admits she was “very wary” about bringing Janney into The Diplomat in Season 2, but “that disappeared the moment that we had Allison on set for the first time.”

“It was so clear that she had created a character that was completely different than what she was before, and then bringing Brad into that, they’re both so good,” Cahn continues. “They don’t want to play the same character again, and they don’t want to play the same relationship again. And they just aren’t. It’s fun to have the double vision of [remembering] enjoying them in the past, and we’re seeing this now, I think, in the way that people enjoy watching Kate Wyler, but also enjoy this in terms of Keri’s whole body of work. She’s got a relationship with audience members that’s gone on for a couple years now, a couple decades.”

Janney and Whitford have been upped to series regulars for The Diplomat Season 4, which starts filming soon.

The Diplomat, Season 4 TBA, Netflix