‘Madam Secretary’ Promotes Željko Ivanek to Series Regular

After only guest starring in the pilot, CBS’ new drama ‘Madam Secretary’ liked what it saw in Željko Ivanek and upped him to a regular, Deadline reports.

Ivanek stars as Russell Jackson, the president’s intimidating and opinionated Chief of Staff. Ivanek is an actor with a familiar face who’s known for popping up all over the small screen, including ‘Revolution,’ ‘Heroes,’ ‘24’ and his Emmy-winning role on FX’s ‘Damages,’ among many others.

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Written by Barbara Hall and executive produced by Morgan Freeman, the drama features Téa Leoni as Elizabeth McCord, who’s said to be shrewd, determined, and not to mention the newly appointed Secretary of State driving international diplomacy, battling office politics and bypassing protocol, all while negotiating global and domestic issues. Talk about a stressful job -- both at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and at home with her husband (Tim Daly) and children.

The series, which will air Sundays at 8/7c, also stars Bebe Neuwirth as Elizabeth’s Chief of Staff, Tony winner Patina Miller as Elizabeth’s press coordinator and ‘Body of Proof’s Geoffrey Arend as Elizabeth’s speechwriter.

CBS granted ‘Madam Secretary’ a series order in early May, alongside several other series, including the ‘NCIS: New Orleans’ and ‘CSI: Cyber’ spin-offs, Kevin Williamson’s ‘Stalker,’ ‘The Odd Couple’ from Matthew Perry, ‘Scorpion’ with Katharine McPhee, comedy ‘The McCarthys’ and ‘Battle Creek’ from ‘Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan.