3 captivating Netflix shows to watch while waiting for The Diplomat season 4

Each day, we're getting closer to the premiere of The Diplomat season 4 on Netflix. The Emmy Award-nominated political thriller returns with its latest batch of new episodes on Oct. 15, which is so close yet so far away—especially when you're greedy for one of the best shows on TV.

Keri Russell will be back on our screens as Kate Wyler, who will be navigating some of her most challenging ups and downs of the entire series. When we last left her, she was rocked by the revelation of what Hal and Penn have secretly done behind the scenes and the dangers ahead.

If you simply can't contain your excitement for what's coming up next in the series, there's still time to sneak in a couple more quick binges to pass the time. Netflix offers so many incredible and entertaining series with crime, drama, and mystery, like the three great picks below!

The Gentlemen

On paper, The Diplomat and The Gentlemen couldn't be more different. After all, one of the series is centered in the world of crime and drugs while the other is a fast-paced exploration of international relations. But they have something in common, and that's their London setting in grand estates and the unraveling of centuries-old institutions. See? The commonalities are there.

The Gentlemen stars Theo James as a former solider who inherits his late father's title as the Duke of Halstead, but he comes into much more than a flashy new name and the estate where his family resides. Eddie is now the leader of his family's underground weed business, teaming with Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario) of the powerful Glass family, and delving into a life of crime.

Netflix released the second season of The Gentlemen on Sept. 3, which ended the nearly three-year wait for the return of the series from Guy Ritchie. If you managed to miss the show the first time around, you now have two eight-episode seasons to binge-watch, making for 16 episodes to hold you over until The Diplomat season 4 returns in October.

Death by Lightning

Maybe you're looking for something political but not modern and a bit shorter, which Netflix also has on its roster. Last year, the streaming service released the historical drama miniseries Death by Lightning. It's exactly like The Diplomat, but a certain fraction of its audience will enjoy the series.

Based on the book Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard, Death By Lightning centers on President James A. Garfield, from his election to the presidency that was marred with conflict and his assassination.

The series boasts a great cast that includes Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Bradley Whitford, and Nick Offerman and contains only four episodes. Make sure to check out the Emmy Award-nominated miniseries for a super-quick binge!

I Will Find You

Last but certainly not least, if the element you enjoy the most in The Diplomat is the undercurrent of mystery, then you will probably fill your time before season 4 with some good mystery thrillers. You have probably already watched I Will Find You, but if not, now's the time!

Harlan Coben's latest collaboration with Netflix has proven to be his most successful. The limited series about a father who was wrongly incarcerated for the death of his son has become Coben's biggest Netflix show ever, the biggest new Netflix show of 2026, and one of the most most-watch Netflix original series of all time. If that's not a reason to watch, then what is?

I Will Find You shares very little DNA with The Diplomat, but both shows are gripping and feature performances that you simply can't look away from. Whether for the first time, the second, the third, or the millionth, you have to experience the Netflix show everyone has been raving about.

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