Netflix halts production on the breakneck thriller that was shooting its second season 44 days after the first one premiered

Having regularly come under fire for not just the volume of popular shows it cancels but the lengthy and excruciating wait to discover whether or not the series in question has been saved or executed, Netflix occasionally does something completely off-brand like it did with The Diplomat.

The political thriller premiered on April 20 of this year and did what the majority of buzzy similar titles do; namely, taking a hefty bite out of the viewership charts. Less than two weeks later, it was confirmed the bingeable smash hit had been renewed, and set photos confirmed that production on season 2 was underway by June 3.

That’s 44 days between the first episode of The Diplomat hitting the small screen and the sophomore run beginning principal photography, which is absolutely ludicrous by Netflix’s standards, especially when you consider that there’s still an awful lot of people out there sitting on their hands waiting to discover the fate to befall Shadow and Bone.

However, despite shooting in the United Kingdom and not being beholden to the exact same rules as the striking SAG members across the pond, a representative from the platform has confirmed to What’s on Netflix that The Diplomat is currently on hold until the industry-wide issues resolve themselves, just as they damn well should be.

Netflix can throw a show into a breakneck turnaround if it wants to, which leaves you wondering why on earth it takes so long for so many proven titles to have it clarified in no uncertain terms that they won’t be joining the ever-increasing discard pile.