The Diplomat season 4 confirmed for 2026 release on Netflix

Pick up the phone, Kate Wyler is calling with some great news! Following the release of the latest season of The Diplomat in October 2025, there's some exciting news to share about the release of season 4. It's coming much sooner than we originally anticipated!

Netflix unveiled a preview of the new movies and shows coming throughout 2026, with some receiving release dates (like Virgin River season 7 and Sweet Magnolias season 5) and others at least being confirmed for release in 2026. Thankfully, Netflix quelled our fears about The Diplomat season 4 potentially being pushed to 2027.

The Emmy Award-nominated political thriller will in fact return before the end of the year, as Netflix has included The Diplomat season 4 on its list of shows coming in 2026. Due to previous reports about the upcoming season's production timeline, there was a chance that we would go without a new season for a full calendar year for the first time. But that's not the case!

The Diplomat season 4 is coming to Netflix in 2026

Filming on The Diplomat season 4 began in the United Kingdom in November 2025, and some sources have suggested that production will be completed in July 2026. For that reason, the season's chances of finishing up post-production and being ready for a release by late October 2026, or at some point in the final months of 2026, seemed rather slim.

However, Netflix has now taken away our fears that season 3's game-changing cliffhanger won't be answered until 2027. We should still keep in mind that things can change and television series can end up delayed for various reasons. But for now, we can breathe a sigh of relief that Netflix currently has The Diplomat season 4 on target for a release before 2026 comes to an end.

The news of The Diplomat returning before the end of the year comes as the series has picked up even more award nominations during the current award season cycle. The series, Keri Russell, Allison Janney, and Ato Essandoh were each nominated for Critic's Choice Awards, while the series and Russell landed Golden Globe nominations. Russell was also nominated for an Actor Award.

While the series has yet to win a major award, there's no doubt that the best is yet to come for the Netflix original series, especially given where season 3 ended. With Penn and Hal now in power as the President and Vice President, their political connection was tenuous at first, but they have now found themselves in tricky territory by secretly taking possession of the Poseidon weapon.

Going into season 4 and beyond, Kate remains the cooler political mind attempting to keep her head above water amid the chaos. We couldn't even begin to guess what twists will be in store for her in the new episodes. Stay tuned for more The Diplomat season 4 news and updates!