<p id=”par-1_48″>Allison Janney is stepping into Kate Wyler’s (Keri Russell) world in <em>The Diplomat </em>Season 2. For Debora Cahn, the creator, writer, and executive producer of the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-lincoln-lawyer-showrunners-already-plans-series-future-season-3-drops.html/”>Netflix original series</a>, the addition of the award-winning <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/actors/”>actor</a> “stressed” her out. Why she spent weeks in a “full-on immobilized panic,” ahead. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-janney-plays-the-u-s-vice-president-in-the-diplomat-season-2″>Janney plays the U.S. vice president in ‘The Diplomat’ Season 2</h2>
<p id=”par-2_53″>After being mentioned only by name in season 1, Kerri Russel’s Kate Wyler finally comes face to face with Janney’s U.S. Vice President Grace Penn in season 2. The <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-diplomat-season-2-unanswered-questions-premiere-2-teaser-trailer-answered.html/”>trailer for the new season</a> showed the two exchanging a tense glance—but no words—as they arrive at a big event in the upcoming season. </p>
<p id=”par-3_50″>Fans might remember Penn as the woman some want Kate to replace in light of an impending scandal. As for whether Janney’s character will be a friend or foe, the official synopsis doesn’t give much away. Instead, it teases that Kate gets “a threatening visit from Vice President Grace Penn.” </p>
<p id=”par-4_29″>Cahn previously described Penn as someone who will “defy expectations” so viewers will have to wait and see how it plays out once <em>The Diplomat</em> Season 2 gets underway. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-the-diplomat-creator-felt-pressure-with-so-much-riding-on-janney-s-episodes”>‘The Diplomat’ creator felt pressure with ‘so much riding on’ Janney’s episodes</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image aligncenter size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Allison-Janney-in-The-Diplomat-Season-2.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Allison Janney stands at a ledge in a scene from ‘The Diplomat’ Season 2.” class=”wp-image-3731034″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Allison Janney in ‘The Diplomat’ Season 2 | Courtesy of Netflix</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-5_43″>Speaking at PaleyFest on Oct. 20, 2024, Cahn revealed how stressed she felt about Janney’s guest-starring role. “I went into a full-on immobilized panic for a number of weeks when the first big Allison episode was coming,” she told the audience (via <a href=”https://people.com/the-diplomat-showrunner-didnt-want-allison-janney-casting-to-feel-like-a-west-wing-gimmick-8732335″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>People</a>). </p>
<p id=”par-6_51″>Why? “Because it just felt like so much was riding on it and I wanted it to be good. I wanted it to be good for her and I wanted it to be worthy of these guys [the cast of <em>The Diplomat</em>] in terms of what she brought to the table.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_33″>“I didn’t want it to be a stunt,” Cahn went on. “I wanted it to be a good part of the story for all of these characters. So, yeah, it was pretty stressful.” </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-she-also-worried-about-making-the-diplomat-too-similar-to-the-west-wing”>She also worried about making ‘The Diplomat’ too similar to ‘The West Wing’</h2>
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<iframe title=”The Diplomat: Season 2 | Sneak Peek | Wear A Suit | Netflix” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/_yIeRD9cMQg?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-8_55″>The pressure Cahn felt went beyond making good TV for viewers and the cast. She also didn’t want Janney’s episodes to be too much like <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tv/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>The West Wing</em></a>, where she and the Ocsar winner worked together years earlier. (Cahn had a job as a writer on the award-winning political drama and Janney played C.J. Cregg.) </p>
<p id=”par-9_47″>“I was worried that it was going to feel like a gimmick,” Cahn said. “I was worried that it was going to be like, ‘Ooh, C.J. Cregg grew up and is vice president.’” Then there was the concern about “writing a character that would be distinct enough.” </p>
<p id=”par-10_53″>“A lot of the way that I write, I learned from writing for Allison,” Cahn explained. “So there are certain things that I hear that kind of come from her rhythms. So those are in all of these characters. I just didn’t want it to feel like sort of all the same thing.” </p>
<p id=”par-11_10″><em>The Diplomat</em> Season 2 hits Netflix on Oct. 31, 2024. </p>