[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/diplomatic_immunity.jpg]]

->''"We are at war. [[BreakingTheFourthWall Freeze frame, roll credits, to be continued.]] War!"''
-->-- '''Jonah'''

''Diplomatic Immunity'' is a comedy about the UsefulNotes/NewZealand consulate of the fictional Most Royal Kingdom of Fe'ausi. The island kingdom itself is known for having "the highest standard of living in the South Pacific" thanks to its rampant corruption. The staff of the consulate, including ambassador Jonah Fa'auigaese (the brother of the king) and other relatives Mick, Malepe, and Suga, are unsurprisingly willing to bend or ignore rules, much to the dismay of their diplomatic attaché Leighton. Rounding out the main cast are Jonah's daughter Leilani, the kingdom's only anti-monarchist activist, and Kirsty, who appears to be the only one who does any legitimate work.

Not to be confused with the trope DiplomaticImpunity, although the Fe'ausians do take advantage of that whenever they can.

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!! This show provides examples of:

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Suga, mostly to Leighton but the other people at the office find her repulsive as well.
** The Spider even runs away from her when she tries to make nice to it.
* AdiposeRex: We never see the King but he's apparently "large enough to generate his own gravity". Jonah is also quite big as the ambassador.
* ArrangedMarriage: The plot of episode 4.
* ArtisticLicensePolitics: Jonah is the Fe'ausian ambassador to New Zealand, a fitting title for the brother of a king. However, the characters all work at a consulate -- which should be run by a consul general -- rather than an embassy, the appropriate post for an ambassador.
* BeautyContest: Leilani's character introduction is her having used a Miss Fe'ausi pageant as an opportunity to Soapbox.
* BerserkButton: The normally stoic Leighton has a few, including disrespectful portrayals of NZ icon Edmund Hillary. Meanwhile, the whole Fe'ausi nation goes to war over one broken marriage.
* BrainlessBeauty: Leilani's temporary fiancée.
* BreadAndCircuses: Discussed. Corruption is rife in Fe'ausi, but those in power maintain their positions by showering the populace with expensive gifts like large kitchen appliances.
* BuffySpeak: Jonah and Leilani's banter in the first episode.
--> '''Leilani:''' I'm here against my will!
--> '''Jonah:''' You're here against many people's wills but the will of the King beats all other wills.
* ButtMonkey: Leighton gets this fairly often, especially in the April Fool's episode.
* CerebusRetcon: Leilani's mother is a throwaway line in the pilot. A few episodes later it's PlayedForDrama when Jonah starts seeing another woman.
* CurbStompBattle: Fe'ausi declares war on New Zealand, a country noted for having a disproportionately effective military for its small size, and [[spoiler:soundly beat the Kiwis in just a few days, forcing Leighton to get on his knees and offer a formal surrender]].
* ChewToy: Malepe. You have to love him really.
* ClarkKentOutfit: Leighton's suits hide a surprisingly muscular physique. Newer fans to the series however would not expect anything less from [[Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand a Roman military leader]].
* ConversationalTroping: In "Boris The Spider" Kirsty and Malepe have a talk about how they would behave in a situation like {{Film/Aliens}}''.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Leilani forgives Leighton for stopping her wedding but she makes him [[spoiler: dress up like a street mime and do "trapped in a box"]] while she stands on the street protesting.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The Brotherhood of Brothers.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When the entire country is forced to go on a Vegan diet everyone has withdrawal symptoms akin to recovering heroin addicts.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: The men belonging to the CBOB church only marry blonde women, and several at a time.
* FreudianExcuse: Leighton hates surfers because they laughed at him when he wasn't able to do it.
* GenkiGirl: Going on a Vegan diet turns Leilani into one of these.
* TheGhost: The King, though a silhouette appears in a flashback.
* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: Bald Jonah is shown to have a thick head of shoulder-length hair in a flashback to Leilani's fifth birthday party.
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: The Princess Grace with whom Leighton had a public indiscretion. When she shows up to apologise, Leighton is apparently only number seven on her list.
* HowWeGotHere: Episode 10, "Graceland".
* IAmVeryBritish: The Princess Grace (no [[Creator/GraceKelly not that one]]).
* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: The Fe'ausian consulate and [[spoiler:their counterparts from the Fa'akofan consulate, who are played by the same actors with afros wigs]].
* InformedAttractiveness: All three women wait at the front door anxiously for The Niu and even [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Mick and Marlepe get excited when he arrives]].
** Ditto for the Eastern European woman Jonah is seeing. The word "hot" is used in nearly every sentence about her.
* KarmaHoudini:
** Leighton is repeatedly chewed out for [[spoiler: stopping Leilani's wedding]] and starting the war. Kirsty helped him do it and seems to get away with it.
** Mick is involved in various illegal dealings and never seems to get caught.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Mick's karma catches up with him in "Graceland" though ironically through a drunken mistake than his usual illegal activities.
* KissingUnderTheInfluence: Suga and [[spoiler: Malepe]] while on drugs in episode 10.
* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: The headdresses used for the First Best Dance.
--->'''Malepe:''' It represents the panini.
--->'''Josiah:''' Panini is Fe'ausian for--
--->'''Leighton:''' Yeah, I can guess what it's Fe'ausian for!
* LovableJock: The Niu, a kind and friendly surfer.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Leighton and Leilani by the series finale]]. Presumably if a second season had been picked up, the relationship might have been explored more.
* MissingMom: Leilani's...
--> '''Jonah:''' Dear Lord, Leilani, on the grave of your poor sainted mother.
--> '''Leilani:''' She's not dead. She went shoe shopping and never came back.
* MrFanservice: Leighton. In episode 2 he gets sprayed with water and is forced to strip in front of Leilani and in episode three he spends a good few minutes wearing nothing but a loincloth.
* MonsterDelay: Sort of. The terrifying monstrous spider [[spoiler:is never seen until after it's been squished.]]
* MusicalEpisode: partly. "Climb Every Mountain" involves some samples of the songs.
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: When Leighton is first introduced to the outfits for the First Best Dance.
--->'''Jonah:''' Imagine, if you will, dressed like this, five of Fe'ausi's finest warriors...and Malepe.
* NothingIsScarier: The rare spider.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Leighton and Leilani join in with the "shunning of the guilty one" in episode 10.
* OnlySaneMan: Leighton when dealing with the odder Fa'usian traditions, although he has a way of getting sucked into the madness. Also, Leilani, as the only person in the entire country who wants to abolish the monarchy.
* PerkyGoth: Kirsty, though she leans more towards the pop punk scene.
%%* ThePrankster: Kirsty but only on the country's version of April Fool's Day.
* [[RunawayBride Runaway Groom]]: Leilani's husband-to-be runs off in order to marry several blonde women at once.
* SexSells: Kirsty convinces Leilani to get people to honk at her protest signs by wearing less clothing. It works.
* ShipTease: Episode 10 ships [[spoiler: Suga and Malepe]].
* SoapboxSadie: Leilani, but just about the monarchy. Suga also becomes one in the episode a rare species of spider is brought into the office (and Leilani has no objections about squishing it). There's also one related to whales in another episode who chains herself to the gate. She later reveals she has other such protests scheduled throughout the day.
* StalkerWithACrush: The CBOB brothers are this to Kirsty, proposing to her every year.
* SuckOutThePoison: When Jonah gets bitten by the spider he asks someone to suck out the poison. Though in the next scene he says he still has no feeling where he's been bitten so it doesn't seem to have worked.
* TakeOurWordForIt: The King's weight.
* TotallyRadical: The Niu and a bit of Malepe's dialogue.
* TroubledFetalPosition: Leilani when she is reminded of a certain childhood trauma...
** WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: For Leilani it's whales.
* VillainProtagonist: All the cast aside from Leighton and Leilani.
* WhosOnFirst: "The Niu." "The new what?" Also:
--->'''Josiah:''' So I take it your answer is no, then.
--->'''Leighton:''' No.
--->'''Josiah:''' And no is your final answer?
--->'''Leighton:''' No.
--->'''Josiah:''' No?
--->'''Leighton:''' It wasn't my first answer.
--->'''Josiah:''' Yes it was!
--->'''Leighton:''' No. You asked me if my answer was no, and I said no.
--->'''Josiah:''' You mean when you say no, you mean yes?
--->'''Leighton:''' No! [[DontExplainTheJoke To your question I meant no, but to the bigger question, of will I become an Aratika, I mean yes.]]
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Leighton and Leilani.
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