Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell Open Up About ‘The Diplomat’ Season 4’s Biggest Twists

Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell, who play married political power couple Kate and Hal Wyler on Netflix’s “The Diplomat,” say Season 4 does not let up on the show’s signature mix of marital chaos and high-stakes diplomacy.

Speaking with Decider about the new season, now streaming on Netflix, the pair discussed the shocking ending of the first episode, the finale’s closing moments, and one particularly unglamorous habit of Hal’s: getting into bed with his shoes still on.

“Listen, I tried to argue my way out of that, or rather I didn’t, but I know Deb [Cahn] by now, when she wants something, she’s gonna get it. It’s pretty gross,” Sewell said, referring to series creator Debora Cahn.

“And I’ve said this before, sometimes I feel I’m playing Hal, but in that scene I’m playing men, okay? And I’m sorry, that’s who I get to represent. I’d like to apologize to everyone.”

Spoilers follow for Season 4, now streaming on Netflix.

The Episode 1 Cliffhanger

Asked about the shocking end of the season’s first episode, which involves an attempted assassination of the character Grace, Sewell said the moment sets the tone for the rest of the season. “I mean we go into the first episode thinking, ‘Oh great,’ and when it ends, you just think, ‘Okay, I really want to know what happens next,'” he said.

Russell joked, “And why does she hate Emmy winners so much?”

Sewell said the cast often reacts to big script turns by texting each other. “We tend to send each other little exclamation marks and like one-word texts. Because we know what we’re talking about.”

Reading the Scripts Cold

Sewell described a tradition on set in which the final pages of major episodes are redacted for most of the cast until a live table read, so reactions in the room are genuine. “You get to, as the page turns, sometimes you hear a couple of pre-gasps,” he said, adding that castmate Ato Essandoh’s reactions are a particular highlight.

He said the season finale’s ending drew a strong response in the room. “It’s a very powerful ending, but like I had mixed feelings about it, just like how is that gonna land, et cetera? And then you just got this reaction in that room.”

What’s Going Through Kate and Hal’s Minds

Asked what their characters are thinking as they approach Grace in the finale’s final moments, Sewell demurred. “So many things I’m not going to tell you,” he said, while Russell called the scene “such nice writing.”

“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,” Sewell said. “And I think that mystery, that not quite-knowing is part of it.”

Favorite Scenes of the Season

Russell singled out a scene involving a long walk to dinner with the president and her husband. “I love that scene, too. It’s a classic,” she said.

Sewell joked about his character being blindsided with news right before the dinner. “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 also said she enjoys scenes where the couple gets things wrong. “Anytime one of us has done something stupid or something,” Sewell added. “We like a bit of losing, you know, like we like getting it wrong.”

The Chapel Scene

Russell praised director Alex Graves, who directed the season’s first episode and has a history of working on large-scale productions like “Game of Thrones.” “He’s our favorite director on this show,” she said, noting Graves worked alongside series creator Debora Cahn years earlier on “The West Wing.”

“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,” Russell said. Sewell agreed, calling Graves “a master of the big stuff, as well.”

Russell noted that Graves has directed the first two and final two episodes of each season. “I’m so glad it was him,” she said.

“The Diplomat” Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.