Tea Leoni stars in CBS's upcoming new drama Madam Secretary, playing -- you guessed it -- the newly appointed Secretary of State. CBS's trailer for the series gives us a pretty solid introduction to Leoni's Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst and current college professor whose next career leap comes at the request of the President himself. What's evident from the video is that Elizabeth McCord is up for doing the job, but she's doing it her own way.
Madam Secretary comes from Barbara Hall, with Lori McCreary, Morgan Freeman and David Semel among the executive producers. Semel directed the pilot. Here's a look at the official synopsis:
MADAM SECRETARY stars Téa Leoni as Elizabeth McCord, the shrewd, determined, newly appointed Secretary of State who drives international diplomacy, battles office politics and circumvents protocol as she negotiates global and domestic issues, both at the White House and at home. A college professor and a brilliant former CIA analyst who left for ethical reasons, Elizabeth returns to public life at the request of the President following the suspicious death of her predecessor.The President values her apolitical leanings, her deep knowledge of the Middle East, her flair for languages and her ability to not just think outside the box, but to not even acknowledge there is a box. McCord’s team includes her Chief of Staff Nadine Tolliver (Emmy Award winner Bebe Neuwirth), speechwriter Matt Mahoney (Geoffrey Arend), press coordinator Daisy Grant (Patina Miller) and her charming assistant, Blake Moran (Erich Bergen). As McCord debates third world problems and finesses foreign dignitaries at work, that’s just a warm-up for when she goes home to her supportive husband Henry (Tim Daly) and their two bright children (Katherine Herzer and Evan Roe), where “politics” and “compromise” take on new meaning.
Looking at the video, not only does Madam Secretary look like it could be another female-led drama to join The Good Wife at the the Eye, but it also looks like a great new opportunity for Leoni. It looks like Elizabeth's professional life is the primary focus here, with major world issues requiring her attention. It'll be interesting to see what kind of pacing this drama has.
Tea Leoni made a name for herself on the big screen, but she's hardly new to television. She got her start on the soap opera Santa Barbara back in 1989 and later appeared in TV series Flying Blind and The Naked Truth. She rose to bigger fame in the late 90s with starring roles in Bad Boys and Deep Impact. We haven't seen much of her in recent years, though she did appear in the recent feature comedy Tower Heist.
CBS has Madam Secretary set to air on Sunday nights between 60 Minutes and The Good Wife, beginning this Fall. Check out the full CBS 2014-2015 lineup here.
