Secretary - Season 1 [top]: Madam

Airdate: January 18, 2015 A female political candidate is kidnapped by a drug cartel in Mexico. Elizabeth and her team must work quickly to secure her safe release while dealing with the cartel's violent demands.

The season begins with the sudden, suspicious death of Secretary of State Vincent Marsh in a plane crash. President Conrad Dalton (Keith Carradine), Elizabeth’s former boss at the CIA, visits her at her quiet horse farm to offer her the position, valuing her "outside the box" thinking and apolitical approach. Madam Secretary - Season 1

Madam Secretary Season 1 received generally positive reviews. Critics praised Téa Leoni’s commanding, nuanced performance—making Elizabeth both formidable and vulnerable. The show was noted for its confident, optimistic tone and its portrayal of a competent, ethical government, a refreshing contrast to more cynical political dramas. Airdate: January 18, 2015 A female political candidate

The season’s primary serialized arc revolves around the suspicious plane crash that killed the previous Secretary. Elizabeth, alongside her tough-minded Chief of Staff, Nadine Tolliver (Bebe Neuwirth), and her trusted speechwriter/adviser, Matt Mahoney (Geoffrey Arend), begins to uncover evidence suggesting the crash was not an accident. This puts her at odds with powerful figures in the White House, including the cunning and pragmatic Chief of Staff Russell Jackson (Željko Ivanek), forcing Elizabeth to navigate a web of conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government. The show was noted for its confident, optimistic

Throughout the first season, Elizabeth and her team tackle a massive array of global crises: