The Diplomat (UK) show is a contemporary diplomatic tale about two British diplomats. These two envoys, Laura Simmonds and Alba Ortiz, are posted in a Catalan city in Spain.
These two British Consul Employees assist British Citizens, who find themselves in challenging situations while visiting Spain. So, most of the time, they are proverbially fire-fighting a day-to-day diplomatic crisis involving British Nationals. The junior colleague Alba Ortiz (Serena Manteghi) is a good friend and confidant of her senior consul Laura Simmonds (Sophie Rundle) in this show.
Synopsis [official] of The Diplomat (UK/2023) Series:-
It follows Laura Simmonds (Sophie Rundle) and her Barcelona Consul colleague and friend Alba Ortiz (Serena Manteghi). They fight to protect British nationals who are in trouble in the Catalan city. Mixing the roles of lawyer, counsellor and cop, Laura and Alba’s diplomatic skills are stretched to the limit. As they regularly face the stream of cases that walk through the Consul’s doors in Spain.
The series opens with the unexplained death of a young British barman working around Barcelona’s notorious marina. You can read more about it here on FM and/or on the official website of The Diplomat series.
Spoilers Free Review of The Diplomat (UK/2023) Series
The introduction
We reviewed another show with the same name The Diplomat (USA/2023) in our magazine, recently. These two shows came from two different countries – the USA and the UK. These two nations are divided by (the proverbial big pond) the Atlantic Ocean. One of them – Britain (UK) was the colonial superpower in the past. And the other – the USA is the self-professed superpower of the present era.
It comes as no surprise that the show from the UK deals primarily with the day-to-day working of consul staff members. No pun intended, please. As they try to resolve the issues faced by common citizens of Britain. On the other hand, the show from the USA concentrates on larger issues of the geopolitics of the world. Perhaps because this story and production originate in the global superpowers.
So, what is the basic storyline?
Laura Simmonds and Alba Ortiz in this show, two tackle the problematic tasks of stalking, kidnapping, violent attacks and even murders in a foreign nation Spain. All of these involve people from their home country United Kingdom. They are fire-fighting in each episode to help the British nationals in crisis. In addition to solving the murder case of a young British man working as a barman in Barcelona marina.
We liked the diplomatic energy of Sophie Rundle & Serena Manteghi in it
Not so long ago, we saw its lead actress Sophie Rundle in other hit shows like – Peaky Blinders and The Bodyguard from the UK. No doubt, once again, she has done a good acting job in this series too. Also, her comrade in arm Serena Manteghi has done charming acting to keep the viewers interested in their problem-solving abilities.
The conclusion
Our readers have advised us not to share the show’s detailed storylines. So we are not going to share every detail of the plotlines with you all. Instead, we are sharing the skeleton details of its plotlines and the ending of the show in the spoilers. Before we sign off. We can state that it is an engaging human drama. It is about the less-talked-about art of diplomacy in a foreign nation involving the ordinary citizens of the home country. We liked this show. This is a good thriller drama for time-pass on any given day.
Ratings of this 2023 series about two UK Diplomats
| FM’s rating | 3.55/5 |
Spoilers Alert – a peek into its Six episodes & its endings explained
A peek into the six (6) episodes of the season one
1st (First) Episode
The dead body of Jay Sutherland, a British barman is found in the Barcelona marina. Then, the British Consul Laura Simmonds supports Colin Sutherland, the grieving father. As he searches for answers. However, her new boss Sam Henderson at the Consular Office does not like that. So, he does not assist Laura. Even then Laura tries to solve the mysterious death of the barman, a British citizen working in Spain.
2nd (Second) Episode
Laura is called in to assist when a violent break-in leaves a man seriously injured. Moreover, his wife goes missing from their home. Thereby leaving their young kids at the mercy of the local Social Services of Spain. But the influential grandfather of the kids steps in to take charge. Laura and Alba use their diplomatic skills to satisfactorily resolve this complicated family case.
3rd (Third) Episode
Laura receives some unexpected help in Jay Sutherland’s murder investigation from a shady character. Despite the arrest, this murder case has too many layers of mystery and is not yet over.
4th (Fourth) Episode
A British child is abducted in Spain, requiring all of Laura’s diplomatic skills to find the missing kid. It was the case of the wife and the desperate ex-husband. He decides to take the law (as well as his kid) into his own hands. So, he plans to make a run, escape from Spain and return to Britain. Diplomatic – tact and craft assist Laura, as she solves this complex situation.
5th (Fifth) Episode
The Consulate team deals with unreliable witnesses in a case of police violence involving an older couple and an Asian cop. It is the case when the emotions get better of the people involved and tragedy happens. Laura and Alba use all their savoir-faire skill sets to get the matter resolved to the satisfaction of the people involved in this shocking incident.
6th (Sixth) Episode
In the season finale, Laura is adamant and determined to get Colin Sutherland the justice he deserves. But, she puts herself in danger to uncover the truth. Even her colleague Alba does the same. However, Alba does so, in another case involving stalking and violent intimidation of a young female social media influencer. Both Laura and Alba go out of their way to help the British nationals, despite the personal risks and threats.
The ending of its first season is explained below
Unexplained death in the first episode
This six-episode show opens with the unexplained death of a young British barman, who was working around the notorious people in the marina of Barcelona. Right from the first episode onwards, Laura supports the dead British barman’s angry father. However, neither the Spanish police nor the British Foreign Office (Laura’s superior officer at the Consul Office) are keen to pursue a murder enquiry.
Searching for the truth and the killer
Still, both Laura and her colleague Alba continue to search for the truth behind his mysterious death.
In the end, they manage to unravel all the unsavoury details about the unfortunate and tragic events surrounding the young barman’s death. Laura not only uncovers the murder of the barman and the link to organised crime but also its links with the British intelligence services. Not ready to back down, Laura’s quest for truth and justice places her in real trouble with dangerous people, as she threatens to expose secrets that the British and Spanish authorities will go to any lengths to keep hidden.
The killer is revealed
The series ends when the police catch the killer. Laura sees off the satisfied (not angry) father of a dead barman and her friendly team (including Alba) remains intact in the end. However, Laura decides to break off with her boyfriend and not opt for posting in New York. So, all is well that ends well.
Poster of this 2023 series about two UK Diplomats
Key Details about this 2023 series about two UK Diplomats
| Genre | Drama, Thriller |
| Original language | English (UK) & a bit of Spanish |
| Released | March to April, 2023 |
| Season & Episodes | One (1) Season & Six (6) Episodes |
| Creator | Ben Richards |
| Cast | Sophie Rundle, Serena Manteghi, Dylan Brady, Steven Cree, Isak Férriz, Philipp Boos, etc. |
| Awards | Celtic Media Awards 2023 – Drama Series |
The Diplomat (UK/2023) Series:- trailer
Featured & other images from The Diplomat (UK/2023) Series | Alibi.