'Madam Secretary' Renewed for Season 4; Here's What You Need to Know

The shrewd, calculating and determined U.S. Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord (Tea Leoni) will continue to drive international diplomacy in CBS' political drama series "Madam Secretary." The network on March 23 has officially renewed the series for a fourth season leaving fans thrilled with what the series has in the pipeline. The CBS drama has generally earned positive reviews from critics but some fans reacted negatively with its controversial episode depicting the current Philippine President.

According to TV Series Finale, "Madam Secretary" season 4 will have 18 episodes, which is the same as the third season. Its ratings significantly dropped compared to season 2 by 23 percent in the demo and 16 percent in total viewers. There have been no further information regarding season 4's casting details or its plot but as MStarsnews points out, tons of spoilers and trailers will surely make headlines soon.

U.S. Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord struggles to balance her personal life and her work as she fights office politics in "Madam Secretary." She is known for ignoring protocol when she negotiates global issues. McCord is also a college professor and used to be a CIA analyst but left the agency for ethical and personal reasons. She has a deep knowledge of the Middle East and President Conrad Dalton (Keith Carradine) gives importance to her political learning and skill for languages.

"Madam Secretary" also stars Tim Daly, Patina Miller, Geoffrey Arend, Erich Bergen, Evan Roe, Zeljko Ivanek, Bebe Neuwirth, Wallis Currie-Wood, Keith Carradine and Sebastian Arcelus. Some fans believe that with Tea Leoni's strong performance, the CBS series is a solid but simple political drama. When the series first premiered, some news outlets wondered whether it is a campaign ad in support of Hillary Clinton but others say that it's a no Hillary knockoff.

As a political drama series, "Madam Secretary" has since earned nominations including Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television award at American Cinema Editors Awards 2015. It was also nominated as Favorite New TV Drama with Tea Leoni nominated as Favorite Actress in a New TV Series at 41st People's Choice Awards.