The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2023

96 JULY-AUGUST 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Guggenheim—appear as characters in the show. The three main “heroes” are all real individuals, as well: Chicago heiress Mary Jayne Gold (portrayed by Gillian Jacobs of “Community”), ERC leader Varian Fry (Cory Michael Smith, best known for playing the Riddler on the TV series “Gotham”), and Jewish refugee Albert Hirschman (Austrian actor Lucas Englander). The series takes some artis- tic license with their real stories, which is not particularly surprising in a drama- tized account. Every story needs villains, in addi- tion to the mostly unseen Nazis, and “Transatlantic” is not afraid to scrape the bottom of the stereotype barrel by making the American consul general in Marseilles (played with a menacing sneer by Corey Stoll) a complete jerk. This character, Graham Patterson, may be partly based on Hugh Fullerton, the U.S. consul in Marseille at the time. At a 2006 event on Capitol Hill, Hiram “Harry” Bingham’s granddaughter said that Fullerton told Bingham: “The Germans are going to win the war. Why should we do anything to offend them?” Suffice to say, Fullerton followed the U.S. government policy of the time, which was neutrality. For a series that is focused on rescu- ing Jews in World War II–era France, it is remarkable that a true hero—the career Foreign Service Officer Hiram “Harry” Bingham IV—is relegated to about 20 minutes of screen time. We do see him work on creating exit visas for those in need without the knowledge of the evil Patterson or a well-placed Gestapo spy, but the series makes it plain that Gold, Fry, and Hirschman are the ones we should really thank for saving all those lives. It is a regrettable decision on the part of the show’s creators, Anna Winger and Daniel Hendler, because Bingham’s story is well known, dramatic, courageous— and just so happens to be true and not in need of embellishment. Aside from the missed opportunity to feature a heroic American diplomat, is “Transatlantic” any good as entertain- ment? It’s six of one, half dozen of the other. It is difficult to maintain narrative and dramatic tension when the story’s outcome is either general knowledge or a very quick Google search away. Therefore, the series needs to create excitement through contrived, fictional- ized events and characters, including two West African brothers who work at a local hotel, a mysterious British spymas- ter, and the gay owner of the villa outside Marseilles where many of the refugees could hide, not to mention a surpris- ingly helpful little dog who has a Forrest Gump-ian ability to be in the right place at the right time. The creators clearly desired to create “prestige television,” a phrase generally applied to such iconic TV shows as “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Crown,” and so on. The problem is that to do so, you need a suf- ficient budget and really accomplished actors. In this reviewer’s estimation, they fell short on both accounts. The acting is sometimes borderline cringeworthy. Jacobs, in particular, as Mary Jayne Gold looks lost in her role, often seeming to mistake emotion for overacting. Smith as Fry appears gener- ally on the verge of a tearful panic attack, which seems an odd choice for a man who, if nothing else, needed to always be on top of details, names, and plans. Stoll as Graham Patterson chews up the scenery and seems to have wandered in from a different type of TV show alto- gether. On the plus side, the great Moritz Bleibtreu (“Run, Lola, Run”) is excellent as Walter Benjamin, and Jodhi May is hilarious as Peggy Guggenheim as well. If you need a bit of a laugh, I encour- age viewers to stay for the hilariously overwrought and pretentious end credits. Overall, “Transatlantic” is a miss for those of us who care about seeing America’s diplomats depicted accurately on screen. Using the “evil diplomat” character is a huge strike against the show, and minimizing Bingham’s role is bizarre. While it’s always good to see the Foreign Service in popular media, I think we can do better than this. n Ásgeir Sigfússon is the executive director of the American Foreign Service Association. It is remarkable that a true hero—the career Foreign Service Officer Hiram “Harry” Bingham IV—is relegated to about 20 minutes of screen time.