Madam Secretary

All the show has now is that potential, the raw talent, and a setting it doesn't know what to do with.

In the not great but likable and intelligent Madam Secretary, Téa Leoni’s talent gets a deserving showcase.

Her ability to outwit a power-mongering bulldog like Jackson notwithstanding, she is, so far, a paragon of political virtue. That may make her a welcome presence at first, but a TV version of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” aired 50 years ago and lasted just a year. As for Madam Secretary, a few warts may be needed to hold our attention in the long run.

So far, it's contrived, predictable and seemingly allergic to ambiguity and subtext.

Madam Secretary has the pedigree and potential to be a great show. It just has to be more original.

Leoni brings an unaffected and alluring authority to this classy but contrived political procedural.

Leoni is fine in the title role and Daly is thoroughly dutiful as her heaven-sent husband. But the accomplished Neuwirth is little seen in the first hour while Ivanek is getting stuck in a rut of playing basically the same character over and over. What’s missing from Madame Secretary is an overriding reason to keep watching. Nothing really crackles so far.