There’s a madman in the White House and they’re trying to impeach him. Oh, we mean on “Madam Secretary,” of course.
In Sunday’s episode of the Téa Leoni-led CBS drama, President Conrad Dalton’s (Keith Carradine) uncharacteristically irrational behavior means that he could be removed from office on account of the 25th Amendment.
However, President Donald Trump’s mental health was not the inspiration for the episode’s plot, executive producer Barbara Hall tells Entertainment Weekly. In fact, the script was written back in October. Even the title, “Sound and Fury,” — very similar to Michael Wolff’s best-selling book, “Fire and Fury,” about Trump’s first year in office — was decided last year.
“It’s very easy to trace,” Hall said. “Look at the process for making a TV show. It takes a month to break a story and we shot it in mid-November.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean Hall isn’t ecstatic to be able to address impeachment, even if it’s only in a fictional world.
“Anything that’s even remotely in the national discussion becomes something we like to explore,” Hall said. “We felt like this would be a fun thing to game out. Let’s create a scenario where it would be valid, and show viewers how it works.”
“Madam Secretary” airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.