This story contains NO SPOILERS for The Diplomat Season 3, available to stream now with a Netflix subscription.
The Diplomat Season 3 hit the 2025 TV schedule last week, and I doubt anybody is more excited about that than fans of The West Wing. That’s because Bradley Whitford joined the political drama as the husband of none other than his former co-star Allison Janney. After they worked together for so many years, it seems natural that they could channel that chemistry for the binge-worthy Netflix series, but Whitford admits one thing surprised him about the reunion.
For seven seasons on The West Wing, Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford starred as members of President Bartlet’s senior staff. Now they’re playing spouses Grace Penn, who became president at the end of The Diplomat Season 2, and Todd Penn. Whitford opened up to People about it being surprisingly easy to transition their chemistry into that of a couple, saying:
If there was one thing that surprised me, it was the ease of taking the history we have together and shooting it down a different road. It felt very comfortable. There was no… We’ve actually done other little things together, but it was particularly fun to bring that history into a marriage.
Going from playing White House colleagues on The West Wing to spouses on The Diplomat is a whole new ballgame, so it could be expected for Bradley Whitford to be unsure of how their chemistry would translate into their new roles.
It turns out Allison Janney wondered the same thing, and she, as well, was pleasantly surprised, saying:
It was so easy and comfortable. Having to do totally different characters [than The West Wing] — characters who go to bed together — and that was an interesting scene when I read that, and it ended up being one of my favorites. It was really fun and easy and comfortable with Brad because of our history together. I think it would’ve been more difficult with someone I didn’t know. It was surprisingly really easy and really fun. I was just excited for everyone on Diplomat to get to meet Brad and experience everything that is Brad, which is fabulous and joyful and just — he’s the dream.
I love hearing how highly Allison Janney thinks of Bradley Whitford, because he’s always been such a joy to watch. What self-respecting West Wing fan doesn’t still find themselves shouting, “Victory is mine!” and demanding the finest muffins and bagels in all the land? And one only has to look at Season 1’s “Celestial Navigation” to see how much fun their shared scenes are:
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Allison Janney was promoted from guest star on The Diplomat Season 2 to recurring on the current season, with Bradley Whitford also recurring. The pairing has The West Wing fans not only running back for another rewatch (the entire series can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription), but it’s inspired people (like me) to check out The Diplomat (and I’m so happy I did).
All three seasons of The Diplomat are available to stream on Netflix now.