Netflix drama 'The Diplomat' films at Planting Fields Arboretum

The Netflix political-intrigue drama "The Diplomat" touched down on Long Island from mid-January through Friday, shooting part of Season 3 at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay.

The series stars Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, newly appointed American ambassador to the United Kingdom and an experienced Foreign Service hand who bristles at the largely ceremonial post. Following a fatal attack on a British aircraft carrier, she becomes enmeshed in high-level brinkmanship and an international conspiracy. By the end of Season 2, which debuted Oct. 31, Wyler has just been told of the U.S. president's death — after she'd just decided she wanted to be vice president.

While filming had taken place exclusively in England, Scotland and Paris, the evolving story’s focus brought the show to a new production base in Brooklyn, making Long Island’s Gold Coast a natural extension.

"The [filming] permit was issued in the middle of January," says Planting Fields director Vincent Simeone, who has overseen numerous shoots at the 409-acre former estate of the late insurance magnate W.R. Coe. "It was probably in late ’24 or early ’25” that Brooklyn-based location manager Rob Coleman (2020’s "The Walking Dead: World Beyond," 2023’s "The Crowded Room") scouted the locale for the show’s Carrier Productions.

"This is a pretty extended film production" lasting longer than the few days or a week of most location shoots, Simeone says. "They’ve been here most days for a pretty solid three weeks to a month." Filming is tentatively set to return there this spring.

Most of the shoot involved both exteriors and interiors of the mansion Coe Hall. Some filming also took place at the Camellia Greenhouse beside it.

No roads were closed formally, Simeone says, though as one eyewitness told Newsday the morning of Jan. 30, "As we were driving in a policeman stopped us so that an official looking motorcade could pass by. It’s like something the president uses in the city."

Netflix representatives gave no details about the shoot. The series often is set at official residences and government buildings — with some filming having taken place at the actual U.S. Embassy in London and the actual U.K. Foreign Office there — and the Tudor Revival estate Coe Hall would be suitable as such.

"The Diplomat" also stars Rufus Sewell as Kate Wyler’s former-ambassador husband Hal Wyler and David Gyasi as British Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison. Allison Janney recurs as Vice President Grace Penn, with her former "West Wing" co-star, Bradley Whitford, joining as her husband, Todd Penn.

No Season 3 airdate has been announced.

Past productions at Planting Fields include the movies "The Valachi Papers" (1972), "Sabrina" (1995) and "Noah" (2014) and the TV series "Royal Pains."