Madam Secretary was a very successful political drama, but due to several external factors, the show wasn't renewed for a seventh season.
Madam Secretary was a popular political drama that ran for six seasons between 2014 and 2019, but despite the show’s wide audience, it was unfortunately canceled before season 7. The show followed the life of Elizabeth McCord, the newly appointed Secretary of State as she's thrown into the public eye following the suspicious death of her predecessor. Madam Secretary chronicles the character’s journey through the American political system, with plenty of exciting twists and turns along the way. The first seasons were very widely acclaimed, airing at a time when political dramas were at their most popular.
The news of Madam Secretary’s cancelation was an unfortunate surprise for the show’s audience. It had developed a reputation as one of CBS’s longest-running political dramas and seemed as though it had the momentum to continue for much longer, with several character arcs left with unresolved potential. Madam Secretary had many great episodes that allowed it to flourish and gather such a wide audience over the years, but there are still plenty of valid reasons for the show’s cancelation in spite of its earlier success.
Madam Secretary’s Ratings Dropped
The main reason for Madam Secretary’s cancelation was simple: the show simply wasn’t being watched and enjoyed as much as it had been in previous years. The first season had an average of 14.16 million viewers, but that number dropped to an average of 6.74 million in season 6. The network could no longer put so much time and effort into a show that wasn’t providing enough returns for them, and although the show’s fans were dedicated, there weren’t as many of them as there had once been.
That decrease in viewership aligns with a drop in the show’s favor with its fans over the years. On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score for season 6 was 63% in comparison to the premiere season's impressive 83% as well as the show's peak popularity in season 2, where the score increased to 90%. With audiences clearly not enjoying the show as much as they used to, it made sense to end Madam Secretary before things went beyond repair.
Madam Secretary’s Writers Reached The End Of Their Story
Another reason that Madam Secretary didn’t return for season 7 was that it didn’t really make sense to, as the story reached a natural conclusion in its sixth season. The final episodes of Madam Secretary jumped forward in the future, revealing that protagonist Elizabeth McCord had won the presidential election and finally earned the title of Madam President. Going any further in this story would have been a complete change of pace for the show, and in combination with the falling ratings, that was a risk that wouldn’t have made sense to take.
