Madam Secretary spent nine months on putting former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell and Madeline Albright in the same room

The Daily Beast

Executive producer Lori McCreary first broached the idea with Hillary Clinton at Bill Clinton's birthday last year, but the former presidential candidate wanted to play a spy. Then it took time to conceive a story that would be the trio in one room. "The assembly of former secretaries is historic," Kevin Fallon says of Sunday's episode.  "It’s reportedly, and understandably, difficult for the trio, who are friends, to even schedule dinner together. And while political cameos are hardly new territory—the Obamas, Bidens, Clintons, and Reagans all constantly appeared in pop culture—it’s certainly an interesting time for Hillary Clinton to rack up so much screen time, as audiences in turn attempt to glean how light-hearted or political she wants to, or should be." He's referring to Clinton's recent appearance on Murphy Brown. McCreary says she didn't realize the history of the shoot until the day of filming. “After all that, when we were shooting, it didn’t hit us what we had just done until we shut the door, when I think it was General Powell who was the last to leave,” she says. “Literally Téa (Leoni)  flopped down on her back in her dressing room. That’s how all of us felt. Like, oh my God…”

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