July 18, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

“Madam Secretary” to premiere on CBS

“Madam Secretary,” a drama starring Tea Leoni as a secretary of state balancing demands of her job with her responsibilities to her family, premieres at 8 p.m. tonight and will be rerun at 10 p.m. on CBS.

The series stems from a desire by Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman and his producing partner Lori McCreary to move into television after their production company, Revelations Entertainment, had produced such films as “Invictus,” and “Along Came a Spider.”

The two had lunch with CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler, who told them they “needed to find a character whose story we wanted to tell,” McCreary said at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour.

McCreary then met with Tracy Mercer, Revelations Entertainment’s vice president of development, “trying to come up with a great character,” McCreary said.

That character was found thanks to the congressional hearings into the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya,  McCreary said.

“We started asking ourselves what really happens in those American embassies overseas?” McCreary said. “What’s life like for the secretary of state, especially how does that translate overseas when rights for women are
not necessarily the same as they are here?

“Then the issue of balancing an incredibly heavy workload with a personal life and how do you even plan a single moment of your life… when at any minute you could be dealing with rocket attacks in Israel, a military coup in Pakistan and a border crisis with Mexico?”

Freeman coined the title, McCreary said. Coincidentally, it is also the title of the memoir of the first female secretary of state, Madeline Albright, who met with Leoni as she prepared for the role and attended the series’ premiere in Washington Thursday.

McCreary and Freeman pitched the concept to Tassler, who “loved the idea” and “introduced us to the inimitable Barbara Hall,” who would become the series’ creator and write tonight’s episode, McCreary said.

Hall said she told McCreary and Freeman, “there are two things that have to be present for me to understand this character in order to bring it to life.”

“One is that she can’t be a lifetime politician,” said Hall, who created “Joan of Arcadia,” and had been a producer of another CBS family drama “Judging Amy” and a co-executive producer of the Showtime espionage thriller “Homeland.”

Viewers “don’t understand the life of a lifetime politician,” Hall said. “So I wanted to bring her in from a real-world situation.”

Hall made Leoni’s character, Elizabeth McCord, a CIA analyst who left that position for ethical reasons, then became a University of Virginia professor.

Hall said her other request was for McCord “to have a recognizable and active home life, a successful marriage and children who are still at home.”

“One of the things that’s a challenge in trying to show strong women in positions of leadership or women in a man’s world is trying to show them going back and forth between those worlds,” Hall said.

The inter-office politics of the State Department will be “a big part” of “Madam Secretary,” Hall said.

“The theory that I had was that all inter-office politics are the same, whether it’s the State Department or working in any sort of corporation or a school or wherever people work,” Hall said.

“Inter-office politics are recognizable and that people would see those issues happening in the State Department and feel sort of comfortable in that environment.”

Related Posts

Man Arrested in Brentwood for Impersonating Firefighter During Palisades Fire

July 18, 2025

July 18, 2025

The suspect faces at least 28 criminal counts—including 23 felonies—spanning incidents from 2023 to May 2025 Federal and local law...

Study Highlights Economic Impact of Cap-and-Trade Extension in Los Angeles

July 18, 2025

July 18, 2025

Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders are pushing to reauthorize the program this year, citing its role in generating 287,000...

Nearly $1B Secured for Refinancing of Westfield Century City Mall

July 17, 2025

July 17, 2025

The proceeds will replace a $925 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan, originally issued by Morgan Stanley in 2023 and due...

West Coast Premiere of ‘The Opposite of Love’ Opens at Hudson Backstage Theatre

July 17, 2025

July 17, 2025

Produced by Neil Gooding Productions, behind shows like Back to the Future: The Musical, the play runs Thursdays through Saturdays...

Tesla Seen Nearly Crashing into West LA Home After Collision

July 17, 2025

July 17, 2025

Footage depicted a blue Prius on the road with significant front-end damage A crash involving injuries was reported around 12:30...

DUI Checkpoints to be Conducted Across LA This Weekend

July 16, 2025

July 16, 2025

The LAPD selects checkpoint sites based on data indicating high incidents of impaired driving-related crashes and arrests The Los Angeles...

Mayor Bass Hails National Guard Withdrawal as Victory for Unity

July 16, 2025

July 16, 2025

The Pentagon’s decision to reduce the troop presence follows weeks of legal challenges and public demonstrations Mayor Karen Bass celebrated...

(Video) Did You Know Emma Chamberlain’s Coffee Shop is in Century City?

July 16, 2025

July 16, 2025

The outpost is a first for the popular influencer Did You Know Emma Chamberlain’s Coffee Shop is in Century City?...

Dodgers to Host Back to School Bash for Fire-Affected Families

July 16, 2025

July 16, 2025

The free event will offer free groceries, school supplies, outfits, haircuts, medical screenings, and carnival rides The Los Angeles Dodgers...

Hundreds of Red-Legged Frog Tadpoles Released in Santa Monica Mountains

July 16, 2025

July 16, 2025

Once widespread in California, red-legged frogs vanished from the Santa Monica Mountains by the 1970s Nearly 600 California red-legged frog...

LA Sees Second Straight Year of Homelessness Decline, Leaders Celebrate Progress

July 16, 2025

July 16, 2025

The survey, designed by the University of Southern California, reported a 17.5% drop—the largest two-year decrease on record The Los...

Westwood Village Board to Discuss Public Art Initiative

July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025

The initiative aims to enhance community pride, boost local business revenue, and address urban blight through public art corridors and...

Beverly Hills Plans Major Apartment Development Near Civic Center

July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025

The site, currently holding 13 residential units, is slated for demolition to make way for the new development A proposal...

Federal Judge Sides with Santa Monica, Other Local Governments Against Immigration Raids

July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025

Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete praised the ruling, saying it reaffirmed the city’s commitment to protecting residents from unjust detention...

California Hits Two-Thirds Clean Energy Milestone

July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025

This year, clean energy has powered the state for an average of seven hours daily, with over 90% of days...