When we saw such this kind of event on Madam Secretary, the Secretary of State was heavily involved in finding a solution. But when it happens on this show, we never see the Secretary of State even once, or even hear a reference to him or her. Which show is more realistic?
shareAfter a re-watch of the entire TWW, the Sec. State. appears in only two episodes in seven seasons and is only mentioned in one other. Quite a difference from Madam Secretary where she is practically running everything outside the domestic.
shareI'm not familiar enough with Civics to tell you what would be going on for sure, but TV and film make their main characters the centres of attention.
The West Wing focused on the President and his staff, so they get the spotlight and then other characters are brought in to tell those stories. I assume that the writers tried to do their research and stay pretty accurate, but I'd also bet that they'd sacrifice realism for drama. Same goes for Madam Secretary. On that show, the focus is different (presumably - I haven't seen it?) and is on the SoS, so she gets more to do.
Think about cops, lawyers, and the press. In a movie like Spotlight or All the President's Men, the journalists are heroes. The truth is covered up by cops and ignored by lawyers. If you watch Dirty Harry or a cop drama, darned if those pesky lawyers aren't getting the guilty free and convicting the innocent. Meanwhile, you've got legal procedurals where the press just want to sell papers, so they'll leak anything - true or false - regardless of the effect it has on the trial or endangering the lives of the citizens. Every show makes their chosen focus the heroes and gives them the most air time, while ignoring or often villainizing the others.
Real life is probably somewhere in the middle. Not as absent as on the West Wing nor as prevalent as on Madam Secretary.