When the first previews for the television series Madam Secretary aired it would have immediately piqued the interest of all political series lovers.
While it first began to air in late 2014 Madam Secretary produced six season with the final episode airing in December 2019. Here was a new politically centric series, created by Judging Amy’s Barbara Hall, swirling around the life of the former CIA analyst and now Secretary of State, Elizabeth McCord. What further commands attention is the actress portraying the main character – Tea Leoni.
You’d be forgiven for having a few doubts about the casting here. But they’re instantaneously quashed once you experience Leoni as Elizabeth McCord. She brings a sort of toughness to Elizabeth that smoulders perfectly at the edge of the viewer’s consciousness without it being the focus of the character.
The rest of the cast are no slouches either with Tim Daly (Private Practice) portraying Elizabeth’s husband Dr. Henry McCord, a religious scholar and ethics professor and Bebe Neuwirth (Cheers and Frasier) plays as the Secretary’s austere chief of staff Nadine Tolliver. Z?eljko Ivanek (Damages) excels as the President’s salty chief of staff Russell Jackson.
Madam Secretary possesses the gravitas to be unquestionably considered a drama worth watching. There are consistent instances of profound depth and character development for Elizabeth, episodes sixteen and seventeen of season one come to mind immediately. The narrative is consistently engaging, avoiding any apathetic moments and instead drawing the audience in with its thought provoking storytelling.
It does have a tendency to conclude the meatiest storylines a bit too quickly and replaced with mundanely written plots that are far too predictable for today’s savvy viewer. So why keep watching then? Madam Secretary is by no means a write-off it sometimes simply lacks the meaty writing that would make it a true great.
But still my Tea Leoni- loving heart overrules my brain and I kept watching because of Ms. Leoni’s considerable talents that wonderfully breathes life into the character of Elizabeth McCord.
