'The Diplomat' creator on Kate Wyler's bold choice and what's next: 'We like a good cliffhanger'

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Set us as preferred In case it wasn’t already clear: Debora Cahn, the creator of “The Diplomat,” likes to leave viewers in suspense.The Netflix political thriller has followed Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), the highly competent, intensely impulsive, deeply flawed and incredibly relatable career diplomat, as she’s cleaned up backroom deals, navigated volatile international crises and unstable government leadership — all while managing a topsy-turvy marriage tangled up in it.And the stakes escalate with each season’s finale, forcing Kate to test her limits.

But the fourth season has brought her breaking point.Alarmed by the questionable decision-making by President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) — as the bullying tactics used against the U.K.

to ensure their cooperation against Russia become untenable — Kate resigns in unplanned, but grand fashion at the G7 summit in front of world leaders.She’s eventually joined by other members of Penn’s administration: chief of staff Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah), Secretary of State Miguel Ganon (Miguel Sandoval) and, most notably, her husband, Vice President Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell).

“We like a good cliffhanger,” Cahn says during a recent video call.Cahn’s thought about how “The Diplomat” will ultimately conclude.

But like the show’s savvy titular character, she perfectly executes the art of the charming evasion when pressed for answers — namely, how close are we to getting there?“I don’t know — maybe it just did,” she teases.Cahn then turns more serious: “I’ve always had an idea of what the end is.

As with everything on the show, I’m always delighted to have that idea blown out of the water by a better idea, but so far it hasn’t happened.”Cahn began her television writing career on Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed political drama, “The West Wing,�...