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.
Note: If you’re not seeing the updated chart, please try reloading the page or view it here.
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.
After watching Madame Secretary I think about it and wonder what NEXT week will bring, since it’s always fresh and interesting. And the other thing I think about is I wonder what this THIS weeks show will be about! My weeks are marked by this show and nothing else. An excellent show that I’m hooked on, & it’s been forever since I was hooked on a show. Can’t remember it. Keep the show, and give it some respect since it’s now on so late after people go to sleep.
Madam Secretary is one of the most intelligent shows on tv. all the actors are tremendous. most of my family and friends in the 55-75 age group love this show. it would be a mistake to cancel this excellent show; please consider moving to a better day and time slot. Thank You
Madam Secretary is the best show on television please never cancel it
Excellent show which draws some contemporary parallels to what is going on in the nation and the world these days. The principals of the cast are superb, particularly the female and male leads. It should be renewed. As some of the other viewers have noted, it would benefit from a much better time slot, as during the football season, one never knows exactly when it will begin. Let’s have a season 5!
Such a pity that a show is rated buy how many people watch a given episode. We need a better system – This show is a quality show – of course it has faults – probably the biggest fault as Madams family is just to good to be true – does not matter – us viewers take that good and the bad – CBS need to think outside the square – so many episodes have raised issues from the rest of the world that the insular US does not normally see. OK so CNS needs audience to garner advertising revenue… Read more »
I love this smart, timely show. Please keep it!
Definitely don’t cancel! The characters are fully drawn, the plots intriguing and by the way an education in how our government works!
Don’t cancel, still love watching!
This show has great writing content. I enjoy it so much. And too, there are many lessons to be learned. Please P!ease don’t cancel this important show. It truly is Important. Thank You.
I love this show! Was really disappointed when Bebe left… so please don’t totally disappoint me by canceling the show!!!
I love this show and how it’s stories often follow our world governmental issues. The actors and stories are excellent. Please continue for several seasons.
One of my favorite shows with some realist issues & concerns – pleased not Cancel such a well acted & timely show
We don’t watch much TV, but Madam Secretary and Designated Survivor are my husband’s and my guilty pleasure. These are our “date” shows when the kids go to bed. Intelligent writing, a great mix of drama and wit, and always done with such class… no crudeness here. So refreshing compared to most shows on TV today. How sad that the good shows always get bounced around with long hiatuses, as if the networks wanted to get them cancelled. We need more classy shows, not less.
Well CBS shouldn’t air it so late at night. Love the show. Move it back to 8:00 time slot.
Intelligent show great characters. Deserves more seasons, please!