6. Madam Secretary
What it's about: The schedules are littered with crime dramas, but we're getting just as familiar with the halls of the West Wing as we are the interview rooms of police precincts. Between the Good Wife, House Of Cards and, well, the West Wing, there's a decent track record for TV shows set in and around Washington DC, trading on the inherent scheming, scandal and backstabbing that goes on in the world of politics. Madam Secretary hopes to stand out from the crowd by casting Tea Leoni in the lead, as a down country law professor who gets called up to take the role of Secretary Of State. Honestly, we're suckers for any show that features beautiful people walking purposefully through the White House whilst talking about policies and filibusters. That's not just us, right? http://youtu.be/DB78i4q8Zeg?list=UUwcBHswE79UdQ0A-H7lXg7Q
Why it looks good: Madam Secretary is the sort of show we might normally have given a go if there was nothing else on at the time. What brings it closer to our attention is Tea Leoni in the titular role as the Secretary Of State, in the same way that Geena Davis in Commander in Chief brought that show a bunch more viewers than it would otherwise. Part of that is star power, part of it is the assumption that the show must be something special if a big name Hollywood actor is going to bother with it. The premise could go either way - falling into a cliché-ridden "professional women struggles to balance work and personal lives!" mess, or being something actually interesting - but the cast should keep things ticking over, with Leoni backed up by Tim Daly as her preening husband and Keith Carradine as the President.
