Rufus Sewell calls Allison Janney ‘the perfect addition’ to ‘The Diplomat’

(SPOILER ALERT) The second season of Netflix’s The Diplomat returns on Thursday, and while Rufus Sewell’s character, Hal Wyler, was the victim of a car bombing at the end of season 1, he is indeed back for another go-round. 

“He has survived. Not everyone has made it,” he tells ABC Audio, noting that the bombing will have a “tremendous effect”on his wife, United States ambassador to the United Kingdom Kate Wyler, played by Keri Russell.

While the couple seemed to be on the outs at the end of season 1, Sewell says the bombing does bring them back to each other. 

“So for a while afterwards, there’s a closeness between them, exacerbated by the fact that it seems like no one else can be trusted,” he says. “So they only really have each other.”

He adds, “She’s reminded how much she loves and cares for him, but it doesn’t mean all the old problems have gone away.”

Former The West Wing star Allison Janney joins the cast in season 2 as Vice President Grace Penn, and Sewell calls her the perfect addition to the show.

He says he was “a massive fan” of the White House drama, noting he “loved her character so much and I’ve loved her in everything she’s done.”

“So her coming on board was a big thing for us,” he says. “It was just a lovely vote of confidence and she is so much fun to work with.”