Ambassadors: Diplomatic Disasters

Due to my adoration for Peep Show, the Channel 4 comedy starring the comedy duo of David Mitchell and Robert Webb, I was excited to hear they were doing a BBC Two comedy-drama series entitled Ambassadors. The series is a mere three episodes long (I don't know if there are plans for more) but it contains three hours of very British hilarity.

Set in the fictional Central Asian country of Tazbekistan, Ambassadors follows a group of people at the British Embassy who are trying to go about their jobs without causing a series of diplomatic incidents. Needless to say, they don't quite succeed in that endeavor. David Mitchell plays Keith Davis, the newly-arrived British Ambassador, who is trying to learn the ropes and not worry about the fact that no one knows what happened to his stressed-out predecessor. His wife, Jennifer (Keeley Hawes), is a doctor who works at the local hospital while simultaneously running the household and wrangling the Tazbek housekeeper to provide British food on demand for various Embassy occasions. Robert Webb play Neil Tilly, the Deputy Head of Mission, who serves as the Ambassador's adviser and seems to be the only man who knows what's going on in the country and in the Embassy.

Over the course of three episodes, the hapless Ambassador has to convince the dictatorial Tazbek President to hand over oil rights and secure an arms deal whilst simultaneously distancing himself from the regime's brutal human rights record. All in a day's work for a Western diplomat. Davis is a decent man, but he knows that he can't always take the moral high ground when there are practical business matters at play. His Deputy, on the other hand, is all for giving asylum to political prisoners and constantly needling the Ambassador to do the right thing at the risk of starting a diplomatic kerfuffle. Incidentally, he is dating a Tazbek bartender, which inevitably leads to further complications.

Ambassadors has dramatic moments but it is also a very astute satire that frequently builds up to explosively hilarious scenes. The characters are trying their best, but they cannot help being flummoxed by the daily chaos of living in Tazbekistan. The relentless demands of the higher-ups at the Foreign Office constantly undermine their every attempt at diplomacy, leading to outrageous outcomes. Fortunately, despite their confusion, they are still a competent group of people and find a way to muddle through. Ambassadors is a fine and funny showcase of how, even in the most preposterous situations, the English find a way to keep calm and carry on.