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Why Does ‘The Diplomat’ Season 2 Only Have Six Episodes?

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(SPOILERS for The Diplomat will be found below.)

Keri Russell’s return to TV in Netflix‘s The Diplomat bestowed viewers with a second season of Kate Wyler that began streaming on October 31. This led to a swift binge session for people who couldn’t wait to see how Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) would irritate the hell out his wife while possibly holding backroom conversations with other countries. Then the mood shifted. Kate changed her mind and decided to go for the VP slot, and this led to some rare sexy time with Hal, but not so fast.

Kate’s newfound ambitions were shut down by current VP Grace Penn (Allison Janney), who decided that she wasn’t going to resign after all. This was a turn of events befitting almost any Allison Janney character, but the season’s final moments did cause my mouth to fly open. Hal (of course Hal) had decided to inform the president of his VP’s treachery, and he stressed POTUS out so much that the dude dropped dead, meaning that Grace Penn is now president. The season ended with federal agents swarming across a lawn to where Kate and Grace were arguing. The End.

If I hadn’t been aware that only six episodes existed in this second season, I might have been upset for a few moments at the sudden ending. And on social media, yup, people are frustrated to receive six episodes instead of the eight (like the first season), which has sparked a question.

Why Does The Diplomat Season 2 Only Have Six Episodes?

First, it’s important to acknowledge that — as frustrating as it might seem to wait for more episodes — at least Netflix pre-announced a third season renewal, so it’s not as though the abrupt season finale is a series finale. As for the “why,” showrunner Debora Cahn told TV Line, “It was my decision.” She also added, “[Netflix] was not happy. They wanted the full eight.” Cahn, however, was too exhausted to turn around eight episodes to bring the show back in less than two years despite the Hollywood strikes:

Cahn attributes the episode shortfall to limited bandwidth. “I was really tired,” she says with a chuckle. “It was a time thing. It felt like there wasn’t enough time to turn around eight of them. It was a lot to do in what appeared to be a short period of time.”

Cahn did promise that “Season 3 will be eight episodes.”

And you know what? Viewers don’t seem to be complaining every time that Slow Horses — a show with a similar pace, tone, and style as The Diplomat — releases six-episode seasons. That shorter structure has allowed that show to stick to annual releases, which is far more preferable to viewers than waiting three years between seasons. Adding more episodes to The Diplomat‘s second season probably would have pushed the release back considerably due to rewrites, and then viewers would be upset about a longer wait, but as the common saying goes, you truly can’t please everybody.

The Diplomat‘s second season is currently streaming on Netflix.

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