Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford knew they could take their “eternal connection” working together on “The West Wing” and turn it into a years-long romance for “The Diplomat” Season 3.
The pair spent eight years playing close friends CJ Cregg and Josh Lyman on “The West Wing” in the service of President Jed Bartlet. In “The Diplomat” Season 2, Janney was cast as Vice President Grace Penn, and coming into Season 3, Whitford was floated to play the vice president’s husband. Janney told TheWrap she only had a moment of worry that it was too gimmicky given their much-loved history working together.
“I was on the show before Brad was and [showrunner] Deborah [Cahn] said, ‘How about Brad for your husband?’” Janney said. The Oscar winner admitted that she feared the move was going to be “too ‘West Wing-y,’” but it didn’t feel that way “when we’re on set together.”
“These are completely different characters, and I think people are going to really enjoy us as Grace and Todd, and maybe think of CJ and Josh initially, but they won’t after they see the characters we’re now playing, and the writing that Deborah is giving us to play,” Janney said. “These characters are different.”
Whitford added that the two were able to quickly easy take their long history playing friends on “The West Wing” down that “marital road” for “The Diplomat.” According to him, it was fairly immediate and he thinks fans coming from “West Wing” will also benefit from their connection to the characters.
“The first day was like, ‘Oh, all of this history we have together is completely judoed into this different road, this marital road,’” Whitford told TheWrap. “And I think it’s going to work that way for the audience – just our sort of eternal connection. But they’re in such different circumstances and such different people.”
“The Diplomat” Season 2 ends on the cliffhanger that the U.S. president died while having a conversation with Hal (Rufus Sewell) while Kate (Keri Russell) was meeting with Janney’s character in the U.K. The third season begins with Penn being sworn in as the new president – albeit a more problematic one than she worked for on “The West Wing.”
“I certainly have gotten a promotion every job I’ve taken in the White House, from press secretary to chief of staff to vice president to now president,” Janney marveled. “It’s been quite a trajectory for me and I felt, because of our time on ‘West Wing,’ I felt very comfortable walking into this political landscape.”
Fans of both shows who are excited to see the pair play a married couple in “The Diplomat” have plenty more to look forward to – Janney and Whitford were promoted to series regulars for the already announced fourth season.
