State of Affairs (TV series)


State of Affairs is an American espionage thriller series created by Alexi Hawley, which premiered on NBC on November 17, 2014, during the 2014–15 American television season. The series stars Katherine Heigl as CIA analyst Charleston Tucker, who is tasked with assembling and presenting the President's Daily Briefing on the most vital security issues facing the country, and Alfre Woodard as the first black woman to be elected President of the United States, Constance Payton. After one season, NBC canceled State of Affairs.

Cast and characters

Main

Development

NBC acquired the rights of the series in September 2013. In January 2014, the network announced the project had received a pilot order. The pilot was ordered to series in May 2014. In August 2014, Ed Bernero left his position as showrunner before the show's premiere because of "creative differences" with fellow executive producer Joe Carnahan.

Reception

Critical reception

The series has received mostly negative reviews, although Alfre Woodard's performance has garnered praise. On Metacritic the show has a score of 43 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes the show holds rating of 26%, based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The critical consensus reads: "State of Affairs benefits from Alfre Woodard's talent, but this overly serious show is dragged down by Katherine Heigl's unsympathetic character and a surfeit of unintentional laughs."
Amy Amatangelo of Boston Herald gave the premiere a grade of "C", stating that "Alfre Woodard isn’t given a lot to do as President Constance Payton in the premiere, but, unlike Heigl, she does have the gravitas for the role, and the show would be wise to use her more. The series sets up some interesting revelations in the hour’s final moments. They potentially could make the show more interesting. But for now the state of affairs is rather mediocre."

Ratings

Awards and nominations

Broadcast

In Canada, State of Affairs airs on Global at the same time as the original broadcast. In the Middle East, each episode of State of Affairs aired on OSN one week after the original broadcast. In Australia, the series was picked up by Seven Network, and debuted on 19 February 2015. In New Zealand it will air on TV3 in 2015.
In India, it aired on Colors Infinity in 2015.