The Diplomat Star Ato Essandoh Was Worried One Storytelling Decision Would Hurt The Show

Not every creative choice is an obvious means to an end, but sometimes, those working on a project need to take a leap of faith and trust that the story is being told the way it needs to be. That's exactly what happened to "The Diplomat" star Ato Essandoh, who was originally worried about one specific storytelling decision that he thought might hurt the show: the time jump in Season 3.

"Because this show is so run and gun and everything is day by day by day, then suddenly a jump of five months felt almost inauthentic to me," the actor explained to Gold Derby, "and I didn't know how we were going to pull it off. I didn't say anything to [creator] Debora [Cahn] but I was like, 'Oh, that's a pretty big leap and I'm not sure I get it.'"

The top-notch political thriller follows Keri Russell's Kate Wyler, a new United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, and Essandoh plays Stuart Hayford, the Deputy Chief of Mission of London's United States Embassy. In the Netflix show's third season, "The Diplomat" makes an unexpected time jump of four months between Episode 4 and Episode 5, which ends up shifting the events of the show significantly.

Despite being unsure of the decision to put a time jump in the middle of Season 3 of "The Diplomat," star Ato Essandoh came around to the concept. "[When] I watched the season, then I saw how well it worked because suddenly all of these different things are happening," he told Gold Derby of his change of heart. "[UK Foreign Secretary Austin] Dennison [played by David Gyasi] is married to somebody now. Kate has a new relationship. It just felt like a big shove in a direction but the way it played out was really lovely."

There was initially a disconnect from page to practice for Essandoh — but he ultimately saw the vision. "I thought it worked in the shooting of it," the actor explained to the outlet, "but I was a little bit uncertain in the reading of it."

Season 3 of the series was released in October 2025, and "The Diplomat" is set to return for Season 4 nearly a year to the day from its last drop. All eight episodes will be available to stream in full on Netflix on October 15, 2026, and when that happens, fans will get to tap back in to the recently expedited timeline — you know, barring any more time jumps, of course. Viewers can also check out other TV shows like "The Diplomat."