The Diplomat, a political thriller, topped Netflix's streaming statistics, with a total watch time of 1.24 billion minutes from October 20 to 26, 2025. The show achieved a remarkable feat, increasing by 36% over the last week. As a result, it outperformed its competitors and rose to the top of the Nielsen streaming show rankings.Last week, Beef was the best show with 937 million minutes viewed, but it fell to fourth place this week. Better Call Saul came back to the chart and took the lead among acquired series with 927 million minutes.Since its initial release in 2023, The Diplomat has proven to be a reliable strength for Netflix. Season 3, Episode 1, drew a lot of attention, accounting for 72% of total viewing. The success has been credited to its excellent storytelling and the platform's ability to provide political drama content that appeals to Netflix fans.Read more below about the story.What drives The Diplomat Season 4? View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe Diplomat Season 3 premiered on October 16, 2025, and it instantly gained huge viewership. In 2023, the series had its greatest weekly viewership of 889 million minutes. It is the show's highest viewership since its second week of the first season in 2021. The show has already been renewed for Season 4. Cahn, the showrunner and executive producer, told exclusively on Netflix Tudum,“I’m so excited about Season 4,”He added,“It’s going to be a lot of fun. We get to the end of a season and I always think……way that we can do this again.”The show's weekly growth rate is 36%. The growth reveals the audience's strong interest in this political thriller series.Critical acclaimThe Diplomat has experienced significant critical praise and improved audience reception with each new season. Season 2 achieved a 92% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, up from Season One’s 84% rating. Cahn added on Netflix Tudum,“Working with Allison and Brad, watching them together again, and the off-the-charts foursome that is them with Keri and Rufus … It’s an insane bag of candy,”Viewer satisfaction, as represented by the audience Popcornmeter rating, increased by an astronomical 34% from 89% in Season 1 to 123% in Season 2.How has The Diplomat sustained success? View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe Diplomat is an example of Netflix's continued investment in creating some of the best American political thrillers. The series took the top spot on streaming charts during the week of its April 2023 release, with impressive viewing of 1.3 billion minutes. Political drama has consistently dominated similar series, and it is one of the most-watched programs in Netflix's vast selection.The popularity of this series was hit by other Netflix originals such as The Perfect Neighbor and Nobody Wants This. Thus, Netflix proved that it can create fantastic content in a range of genres. Season 3 garnered 1.24 billion minutes, confirming Netflix's long-term strategy of developing seasons based on series with a strong storytelling foundation.Follow Soap Central for upcoming updates!