Netflix Has A New Political Thriller On The Way For Fans Of The Diplomat

Heads up for anyone who's been craving more of the particular brand of political maneuvering and high-stakes drama that Netflix series like "The Diplomat" have built some can't-miss storytelling around: The streaming giant has a brand new series coming in August that definitely belongs on your watchlist if you're a fan of shows like Keri Russell's acclaimed thriller. It's "Hostage," premiering on August 21, and it's all about the impossible choices that confront world leaders who find themselves forced to juggle politics with their own behind-the-scenes messes.

The new show follows a British prime minister (played by Suranne Jones) whose husband is kidnapped during a state visit. Her rival, the visiting French president, is also blackmailed, twin calamities that force the two leaders to work together as their futures and lives are both at risk. The series comes from Matt Charman, the writer of "Bridge of Spies" and creator of "Treason." And for all of those reasons, including the fantastic cast that includes Julie Delpy as the French leader, it seems to me that "Hostage" is already looking like the kind of series that will have political thriller fans like me glued to the screen.

"I've been dying to find the right story to tell with Suranne, and I honestly believe what she's done with this character is going to blow the Netflix audience away," Charman said in an interview with Netflix's Tudum. "An embattled British PM in the middle of a fight for her country and her family — she's fierce, ruthless, and you can't take your eyes off of her."

"Hostage" opens with the French president's visit to London, a bit of diplomatic pageantry that gets derailed when the British prime minister's husband is abducted. The blackmailing of the French head of state soon forces both leaders into a shaky alliance, one wherein every decision they make not only has political but personal, life-and-death ramifications.

Jones commands the screen as a leader forced to balance duty with her personal desperation, while Delpy, Corey Mylchreest, and an impressive supporting cast bring their own depth to the burgeoning international crisis. There's an especially chilling moment in the trailer when one of the hostages asks a masked terrorist to have mercy on them because they have families. To which the terrorist coldly replies: "So did I."

Adds Jones, in her own Tudum interview about the British leader in "Hostage": "She is put in such extreme circumstances, and we see that when push comes to shove she puts her country over her family. The original, working title for the series was 'The Choice,' and that's why."