Dougray Scott does a good job of playing an emotionally tortured man, besieged by demons from his past, demons which he shares with Pippa. The tension is like an emotional ice field that must, of course, be thawed. Fertile ground for storytelling, to be sure, but although Scott has a gritty toughness it is not tempered in this role by a sufficient amount of charm. Thus, no chemistry develops between Scott and Forlani (who had achieved intense on-screen chemistry with Brad Pitt in her best known role), making the story’s climax a difficult sell.
But for the excellent technical work under the direction of Peter Andrikidis, the dramatically shot locations of Sydney, London, and Tajikistan and superior performances of the supporting cast, The Diplomat would have had its credentials revoked shortly after the gripping five-minute opening sequence. As ethically confused MI-6 officer Van Koos, Roxburgh carries the entire ensemble forward when moments and minutes of story seem ready to dissolve into meaninglessness. Also notable is Jeffrey Lindsay Taylor’s role as the guard assigned to protect the Porters during their stay in Australia. 
Both actors provide first-rate performances, breathing life into scenes that might otherwise leave audiences yawning.
In the final analysis, the producers of The Diplomat appear to have had the ambition to create a work that drew from a deeper palate than other television thrillers by delving who these characters really are and what led them to be in the dark space of the story. Perhaps the goal was to tell the story in a style reminiscent of the realism of Syriana or Michael Clayton. (In some moments, The Diplomat does bear a stylistic resemblance to those excellent examples of this genre.) If so, though the result may have been a faint and roughly drawn sketch of greater films, it should serve as a jumping-off point for future television productions in its category.
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