Madam Secretary creator wanted to treat the final season like a miniseries - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 12-09-2019, 09:37 PM

https://ew.com/tv/2019/12/09/madam-s...eoni-tim-daly/

"We wanted to accomplish as much as we could by telling the story of the first female president and to give ourselves room to do that. So we chose a long arc, which ultimately came to be the impeachment hearings," Barbara Hall says in discussing Sunday's series finale. "That had to do with the fact that I wanted to treat the first female president the way that I felt she might actually be treated. I didn’t want to have it be completely smooth sailing because I think that anybody who’s the first at anything is confronted with a lot of obstacles and challenges." Was impeachment inspired by the Trump impeachment hearings? "This had nothing to do with it," she says. "It was months before the current impeachment process. This was just something I felt might happen to our first female president. Then once we got into it, we were bumping up against real-life headlines in a way that we hadn’t expected to. We also were able to show this character having the fortitude to deal with it and triumph over it. So that was an important thing to achieve."

"Cheesy" Madam Secretary proved it was okay to be one of TV's least-hip shows

"Here’s to loving one of the least-hip shows on TV," says Margaret Lyons, reflecting on Sunday's series finale of the CBS political drama. "To its earnest parenting, its destabilizing cast changes, its long seasons. Get excited for a cameo from Colin Powell, as himself! Marvel at the variety of accents being attempted! Can we interest you in some passionate descriptions of diplomacy and an occasional mention of Thomas Aquinas?" Lyons adds: "What it felt like was a show that wanted to be enjoyed, not agonized over. Trust, I love puzzling out a show, reading endless threads that dissect tiny clues, charting minuscule hints and decoding ancillary materials. But it is not the only way to love, and we cannot live on dire dramas alone. Decency is not a vice, and a vague squareness is not so bad, either." ALSO: Téa Leoni on real-life White House drama: “I can’t believe I’m getting beat by C-SPAN.”

Chocolate Moose · 12-10-2019, 11:58 AM

It's been an interesting ride, that's for sure.

12-09-2019, 09:37 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,009	Madam Secretary creator wanted to treat the final season like a miniseries https://ew.com/tv/2019/12/09/madam-s...eoni-tim-daly/ "We wanted to accomplish as much as we could by telling the story of the first female president and to give ourselves room to do that. So we chose a long arc, which ultimately came to be the impeachment hearings," Barbara Hall says in discussing Sunday's series finale. "That had to do with the fact that I wanted to treat the first female president the way that I felt she might actually be treated. I didn’t want to have it be completely smooth sailing because I think that anybody who’s the first at anything is confronted with a lot of obstacles and challenges." Was impeachment inspired by the Trump impeachment hearings? "This had nothing to do with it," she says. "It was months before the current impeachment process. This was just something I felt might happen to our first female president. Then once we got into it, we were bumping up against real-life headlines in a way that we hadn’t expected to. We also were able to show this character having the fortitude to deal with it and triumph over it. So that was an important thing to achieve." "Cheesy" Madam Secretary proved it was okay to be one of TV's least-hip shows "Here’s to loving one of the least-hip shows on TV," says Margaret Lyons, reflecting on Sunday's series finale of the CBS political drama. "To its earnest parenting, its destabilizing cast changes, its long seasons. Get excited for a cameo from Colin Powell, as himself! Marvel at the variety of accents being attempted! Can we interest you in some passionate descriptions of diplomacy and an occasional mention of Thomas Aquinas?" Lyons adds: "What it felt like was a show that wanted to be enjoyed, not agonized over. Trust, I love puzzling out a show, reading endless threads that dissect tiny clues, charting minuscule hints and decoding ancillary materials. But it is not the only way to love, and we cannot live on dire dramas alone. Decency is not a vice, and a vague squareness is not so bad, either." ALSO: Téa Leoni on real-life White House drama: “I can’t believe I’m getting beat by C-SPAN.”
	Last edited by TMC; 12-10-2019 at 05:50 AM.

12-10-2019, 11:58 AM	#2
Chocolate Moose Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 21, 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 4,898	It's been an interesting ride, that's for sure.
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