CBS still hasn’t cancelled its Madam Secretary TV show, despite Nielsen ratings declines in both its 18-49 year old demo and total viewership numbers. In the 2016-17 television season, this show’s demo ratings ranked 20th out of 26 scripted CBS series, but it drew enough viewers to rank eighth in terms of audience size. Although the Tiffany Network’s viewers tend to skew older, how long will this show’s performance suffice? Since the fourth season should give it a decent sized package to sell in syndication, will Madam Secretary be cancelled or renewed for season five? Stay tuned.
A political drama airing on the CBS television network, Madam Secretary stars Téa Leoni, Tim Daly, Bebe Neuwirth, Željko Ivanek, Keith Carradine, Sebastian Arcelus, Patina Miller, Geoffrey Arend, Erich Bergen, Kathrine Herzer, Wallis Currie-Wood, and Evan Roe. The drama follows the shrewd, determined Elizabeth McCord (Leoni). As U.S. Secretary of State, she battles office politics, while driving diplomacy and negotiating global deals.
Elizabeth was once a CIA analyst, who exited that post for ethical reasons. She later returned to public life, at the request of President Conrad Dalton (Carradine). He values her apolitical leanings, knowledge of the Middle East, flair for languages, and unconventional thinking. Elizabeth is married to Henry (Daly), a former theology professor who is now an intelligence operative. Together, they’re bringing up three children, which can really test her diplomatic skills.
The ratings are typically the best sign of a show’s likelihood of staying on the air. The higher the ratings (particularly in the 18-49 demo), the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available — usually the next day, around 11:30am EST/8:30am PST. Refresh to see the latest.
5/21 update: You can see the latest night’s ratings in context.
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For comparisons: The third season of Madam Secretary averaged a 0.88 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 8.286 million total viewers.
Note: These are the Live + Same Day Ratings which include “live” viewing plus delayed DVR viewing, up until 3am local time that same night. Ratings marked with an “*” are the fast affiliate ratings and will be updated with the Live+SD numbers when they are made available. Typically, networks get paid for C+3 ratings which includes DVR viewing within three days of the original airing when commercials are watched. Those numbers are rarely released to the press.
What do you think? Do you still like the Madam Secretary TV series? Should it be cancelled or renewed for season five on CBS?
4/18/18 update: CBS has renewed Madam Secretary for a fifth season for 2018-19. Details here.
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