FIRST LOOK: CBS' Madam Secretary

Téa Leoni is 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.

MADAM SECRETARY is a CBS Television Studios production, in association with Revelations Entertainment. Barbara Hall (“Judging Amy”) is an executive producer with Revelations’ Lori McCreary and Academy and Golden Globe Award winner Morgan Freeman, and David Semel. The pilot was directed by David Semel.