State of Affairs

I'm not a Katherine Heigl fan, but after seeing this show I am truly one now. Katherine had the strength and balls to craft a character as strong willed and powered as Charleston is on the show. I went in expecting something similar to the Blacklist and it did not disappoint. Mind you this show does in no way rip off The Blacklist, it just takes place in a similar environment. Its real, uncompromising, and extremely fun to watch. I was on the edge of my seat the whole episode.

The acting through out was strong, an asset to a show that is just starting out. I also found no production issues or any of the sort of chaos that was described going on behind the scenes. This is a well written, powerfully acted and immensely talented show thats just getting started. The political intrigue and the twists in the end of the pilot are pretty interesting and set this show up to be possibly even better than The Blacklist.

i like this show despite its inherent weaknesses the writing is good. First off its way better than the crap Tea Leoni is doing on Madam Secretary, a single woman who is leading a show without the ever saving hubby in the background. The writing on this show is really good because it carries someone like Katherine Heigel a less than stellar actor. The rest of the characters need more development that would help to offset Heigel's weakness. We need to acknowledge progress here, a black female president I love her don't care what other critics are saying.....a female lead yeah okay she's white and a blond, we could have dropped some stereotypes but lets face it its America and capitalism we have to sell corporate advertising so let us give in to the stereotypical male fantasies here ... one more time.

Having seen the first two episodes, I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying State of Affairs! Katherine Heigl plays a brash, confident, assertive woman who is in a very high stress job with an enormous amount of responsibility - her views go directly to the President of the United States! However, although she briefs PODUS on the daily "State of Affairs" her loyalty remains, first and foremost to the C.I.A. What an ominous weight that puts on her shoulders, particularly considering that the President was almost her Mother-In-Law! I hope this show continues to develop in the fashion it began ... wrapped around "Charlie's" daily life ... it is very promising and the "secrets" she is forced to keep must be overwhelming! I am looking forward to more!

I don't know why there's so much hate for this show, it seems that most negative reviews are written by people who have something against Katherine Heigl. The complaints seem to range from her being a producer (Oh my god an actor producing! That's never been done before!), to her wardrobe (which I find to be quite understated and more realistic than a lot of other shows), to her personally (it's a vanity project, she's not serious enough, too serious, etc.), even people who won't shut up about the name of her character (really, Charleston Tucker is the dumbest name you've ever heard? Really??). I had neither a positive nor negative opinion of her before watching this show, so to me, she is just fine in the role and I find her to be believable and likable, a flawed but nevertheless genuine character. I like the flow of the story arc, each episode is meaningful to the overall story yet adds in new plot lines rather well. I think the supporting cast is solid and interesting. The only issue I have is some of the details can be unbelievable (no spoilers but they are minor details so far) but for a network TV show I'm willing to suspend disbelief at times and give it the benefit of the doubt if it doesn't bore me to death or make me scream at the television for insulting my intelligence, and State of Affairs so far hasn't been boring or ridiculously stupid. In fact, it's one of the only shows on television I watch, and I can count those on one hand. I like it, and I like Katherine Heigl in it. Good for her, and I hope all the negative comments about her don't prevent the show from having a chance.

I'm not sure why all the negative press over this show. It's more interesting than Madame Secretary and not as silly as The Blacklist. Perhaps I'm over all the Heigl negative press whereas other reviewers maybe not so much. There's a lot going on here and I love the altering behavior between Woodard and Heigl. Are they friends? Does the President trust Charlie or suspect her? Additionally Heigl's character, Charlie, seems damaged, that's why Charlie acts the way she does. Has she been harmed by the loss of her fiancé', the President's son, or too much seen in the field as a CIA operative? Either way, there's something not quite right with Charlie, but what is right is her ability to read what might happen or what's about to happen. I like this show, its characters and I'll keep watching.