Commander in Chief (TV series)

Commander in Chief
GenrePolitical drama
Created byRod Lurie
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes17
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • James Spies
  • Sascha Schneider
Running time42 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 27, 2005 (2005-09-27) –
June 14, 2006 (2006-06-14)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Commander in Chief is an American political drama television series that focused on the fictional administration and family of Mackenzie Allen (portrayed by Geena Davis), the first female president of the United States, who ascends to the post from the vice presidency after the death of the sitting president from a sudden cerebral aneurysm.

The series began broadcasting on ABC on Tuesday, September 27, 2005, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, although most countries outside North America began screening the series in mid-2006.

The show was ranked No. 1 on Tuesday nights until Fox's American Idol started in January. The show was also the No. 1 new show of the season until CBS' Criminal Minds surpassed it. Its major competitor in the 9:00 p.m. timeslot was Fox's House, which aired after American Idol.

The series was created by Rod Lurie, writer and director of the films The Contender and Deterrence.

The network replaced Lurie with Steven Bochco as show runner.[1][2] After ratings continued declining, Bochco was replaced by Dee Johnson. Further declining ratings brought about a hiatus, a timeslot change and ultimately cancellation announced in May 2006, with the final episodes airing the following month.[2]

  1. ^ Gay, Verne."He's not blue about leaving network TV". The Boston Globe, September 5, 2007. Accessed 2 July 2009.
  2. ^ a b "A Final 'Commander' Performance?" Archived 2020-06-17 at the Wayback Machine May 16, 2006, The Baltimore Sun retrieved June 15, 2020