Madam Secretary - Pilot - Advance Preview: "An entertaining political drama"

It's only a few days till the 2014-2015 TV season officially begins and I can't wait to have my favorite shows (e.g. Arrow, NCIS, The Blacklist and The 100) back on the air. I'm also looking forward to some of the new shows, such as The Flash, Stalker, How To Get Away With Murder and Scorpion. Also on my watchlist is Madam Secretary, for which I'll be writing weekly reviews on SpoilerTV. CBS has been kind enough to give us screeners of all their pilots, and so here I am trying to give you an impression of what Madam Secretary is like.

Madam Secretary follows the life of Elizabeth McCord, the newly appointed Secretary of State. A former college professor, McCord is named SoS after the previous Secretary died under mysterious circumstances. The President of the United States himself offers her the position after having worked with her at the CIA. Once in the White House, Elizabeth finds out that the job is far from ideal. She has to learn to work with people, but also that she shouldn't always speak her mind. Her way of work is not always appreciated, with the biggest resistance coming from the White House Chief of Staff Russell Jackson. Jackson goes as far as to arrange a stylist for McCord, something she is not too happy with. The pilot definitely suggests that the two will have an antagonistic relationship throughout the series.

The case in the pilot involves two young boys that were kidnapped by Syrian rebels. It's up to Elizabeth to pull out all resources to get the kids back to the US safe and sound. Whether or not she succeeds, remains to be seen, but I can tell you that the boys' lives are pretty much at stake during one point in the pilot.

Besides Elizabeth's job as Secretary of State, she is also a mother of two and a wife to her husband Henry. Both children, one son and one daughter, have their issues after the family had to move house to accommodate for Elizabeth's new job. Henry is a loving husband and supports Elizabeth whenever she needs it.

This was definitely an enjoyable pilot for me. Téa Leoni does a good job of layering Elizabeth, showing how determined she is in getting these two kids back safely. On the other hand, we have got her arguing with the Chief of Staff and even with the President. We also see what burden the job puts on her and how she feels responsible for her children's issues. But it's not just Leoni who is of note here, the supporting cast is also a delight to watch. Tim Daly as Elizabeth's husband works fine for me, showing his support for her when she needs it. Željko Ivanek makes the White House Chief of Staff look like a creep and while it fits the pilot, he does need a bit of fleshing out. Elizabeth's own Chief of Staff, Nadine Tolliver, is portrayed by Bebe Neuwirth, who also gives a fine performance. The last character of note is the President himself, played in a recurring role by Keith Carradine. In the pilot, he has to listen to two opposing views considering the Syria case, one from Elizabeth and one from his Chief of Staff. You get a good impression why the President offered Elizabeth the job, but I'm curious to discover more of their CIA history. The other characters are either part of Elizabeth's staff, or her children. These characters are not heavily featured in the pilot though they are important to the story.

There was one moment in the pilot which I found a bit ridiculous. I can't tell you too much about it, but I will say that it's a scene that involves the kidnapped children. If you watch the promo, you can see this moment.

One thing I'm curious about is how they are going to balance the stories at the White House with Elizabeth's family life. While family issues are a real thing, they should be interesting enough to contribute to the story. And while Elizabeth's husband shows up at the White House at one point in the pilot, I'm not sure it would be believable if he does that every week. After all, he is still a college professor and doesn't work in the White House. As for children, there are shows where their storylines are far apart from the main plot and as such, are heavily criticized (Homeland, anyone?). However, it appears that Madam Secretary's lead-out series The Good Wife also has the main character's two children as series regulars. Since that show is critically acclaimed, I suppose it could work (although I'm not sure how well received the children's storylines are). We'll have to see how Madam Secretary handles these storylines.

Conclusion: The pilot of Madam Secretary gets the grade of an 8. I find Madam Secretary a fresh and entertaining political drama. The story holds my interest, and the cast works well together. I certainly enjoyed it more than the other White House drama premiering this fall, NBC's State of Affairs, of which I've also seen the pilot.

Madam Secretary premieres Sunday, September 21 at 8/7c on CBS. Watch a promo for the show below. Will you be watching?

About the Author - Daniel

Daniel is a Dutch university student studying Psychology. On SpoilerTV he is a reviewer of NCIS, The 100 and the upcoming shows Madam Secretary, Battle Creek and Odyssey. He also enjoys Arrow, NCIS: LA, Nikita and The Blacklist. Recently gotten into LOST which he really loves. He is excited for the new shows Stalker, Scorpion, NCIS: New Orleans and a bunch of others.

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