Madam Secretary season 6: Who is leaving amidst cast overhaul?

We knew that Madam Secretary season 6 was going to be different than any that came before it — but we didn’t know how different.

Earlier this summer, the (shocking) news was revealed that the premiere will pick up after Elizabeth McCord wins the Presidency, a move that was not decided by producers until after season 5 aired. The original thought was to kick off this season with a Presidential campaign, but that changed once the team learned that this shortened season would be the last one.

Rest assured, you will still see a campaign happen as a part of the story — it’s just going to happen more in flashbacks. Speaking via TVLine, executive producer Barbara Hall noted that they “found a way to have the best of both worlds, where we decided to jump ahead and make her president” while also showing you key moments from the campaign that could still matter.

Here’s one of the big surprises — the cast changes. With Elizabeth having a totally new position — and residence in the White House — there is a heck of a lot of stuff that is different. Sebastian Arcelus (Jay), Geoffrey Arend (Matt), Kathrine Herzer (Alison), Evan Roe (Jason) and Keith Carradine (President Dalton) are no longer going to be series regulars. That’s without even bringing up Sara Ramirez, whose departure was previously announced. Some of these actors will still appear in the final season, but not in every installment. While it’s somewhat dramatic to lose this many people, it’s also probably realistic that with this kind of change also comes a change in the people Elizabeth is around all her time. Granted, some of these characters who are gong to be on the show less are some of Elizabeth’s kids — we figure that they gotta still be involved somewhat.

On a different note, Kevin Rahm, following his time on Lethal Weapon, will be a series regular for the final season as Mike B., Elizabeth’s adviser. He’s made appearances on Madam Secretary even with his other gig in mind, so we can’t say that we’re altogether shocked to see him coming on board now. It just makes sense, given the direction the story was going at the end of season 5.

Madam Secretary season 6 is going to premiere on CBS this fall; let’s hope that these final episodes do their job of offering up hope to everyone at a time in which aspirational politics are hard to come by.

What do you want to see when it comes to Madam Secretary season 6?

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