Morgan Freeman Shares His Not-So-Surprising Inspiration Creating 'Madam Secretary

On Thursday's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Morgan Freeman shared his inspiration for creating the show Madam Secretary. Being a friend of Hillary Clinton, Morgan Freeman paid close attention to Clinton's 11 hour hearing on Benghazi. It seemed to strike a chord with him and his producing partner, Barbara Hall. Freeman said, "We've had three female secretaries of state, and they've all been pretty good at it." With no other show telling the story of a female secretary of state, it seemed like an opportunity. Noting that the inspiration for Téa Leoni's character was Hillary Clinton, Stephen Colbert asked the obvious question, "If she gets elected, do you think that will change your TV show at all?" Freeman responded saying that the show is not about Hillary Clinton's life.