What is Madam Secretary's IQ Score?

Madam Secretary has an IQ Score of 124/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Competent tier. The score breaks down to 39/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 12/50 Educational Value, and 45/50 Craft & Quality.

Is Madam Secretary educational?

Madam Secretary is low on educational value, 12/50 on TVI's rubric. Watch for entertainment, not for learning.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's IQ Score is calculated as round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers: Masterclass (≥160), Stimulating (≥130), Competent (≥100), Passive (≥70), and Numbing (<70). The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

Madam Secretary , IQ Score 124/200

Madam Secretary has an IQ Score of 124/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Competent tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-06-17·Methodology

political dramathriller

124/ 200

Competent

Engages without demanding much, watchable and reasonably crafted

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.2

Formula

round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4

Database scale

2,338 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. We accept no studio money. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions. Our reviewers see no sponsor data, no affiliate revenue, and no screener access in exchange for coverage. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

Barbara Hall's CBS political drama anchored by Téa Leoni as Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst recalled to Secretary of State. The structural commitment, that diplomatic crisis-management cognition is the show's actual subject, rendered as procedural rather than as romance vehicle, is what separated it from late-2010s network drama peers.

Tim Daly's Henry McCord renders the religious-studies-academic spouse counterweight.

Where to Watch

Buy