'Madam Secretary' Season 3 Episode 21: Elizabeth Deals with Sudanese Crisis

Elizabeth (Tea Leoni) will look for a way to free an American journalist being held hostage by Sudanese extremists in the upcoming episode of "Madam Secretary."

In the episode titled "The Seventh Floor," the synopsis (according to CarterMatt) reveals that the Secretary of State and her team will once again face a harrowing crisis overseas. A journalist working in Sudan has been abducted. They must find a way to reach out to the hostage taker and get them to release the man without bloodshed. Elizabeth's team has encountered several crises such as this one. While they know how to handle situations like this, Elizabeth will still want her team to be very careful with the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the promo (via Spoilers Guide) shows another emergency that the State Department will face. In the clip, Elizabeth is talking to the foreign minister of China via a video call. The official wants the U.S. to issue an apology about a certain accusation made against his country. He warns Elizabeth that there will be consequences if the Americans will try to make things difficult. Later on, the secretary calls Matt (Geoffrey Arend) to her office. She and Nadine (Bebe Neuwirth) informs the speechwriter that he must write one immediately, as there will be a press conference later that day.

Matt, however, is experiencing one of his rare moments of writer's block. Daisy (Patina Miller) reminds him that the secretary needs the speech he has been working on within the next three hours. Matt has yet to write anything, though, and he looks ready to cry because of the pressure. He keeps on hitting his head on his messy desk while looking at the blank word file on his computer screen. In the latter part of the teaser, Elizabeth is shown talking in front of reporters. She starts off with a lousy greeting. Daisy and Matt are shown in the background, whispering quietly.

"Madam Secretary" season 3 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS.