'State of Affairs' Preview: Lies, Truths and Trickery

Chris McKenna as Nick Verra -- Photo by: Brandon Hickman/NBC

A new episode of State of Affairs airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

Sixty-five photos of national landmarks suddenly surface, all featuring the är rissãlah symbol. Meanwhile, a college student claiming to be an är rissãlah operative breaks into the White House. The 7th floor team works to figure out the identities of the picture takers as the hunt for Al Moosari continues. Charlie (Katherine Heigl), now in Yemen, desperately tries to make contact with her asset while evading the Yemeni secret police. Nick’s (Chris L. McKenna) masked captor lets him go only to lead him to his next mission.

Back at Langley, Lucas (Adam Kaufman) takes the lead on the interrogation of a potential, and very controversial, är rissãlah member. At the same time, President Payton (Alfre Woodard) must make a hard choice between getting a much-needed win or holding out for her long-term goal of killing Sheikh Hakam.

Watch a sneak peek of the episode, titled "Bellerophon," below:

'State of Affairs' Sneak Peek: An Illicit Friendship Gets Stronger

Chris L. McKenna as Nick Vera and Katherine Heigl as Charlie. Photo Credit: Neil Jacobs/NBC

State of Affairs is back tonight with its third episode, "Half the Sky," airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

Charlie (Katherine Heigl) has flashbacks of her arrival at Midnight City where she first met Nick (Chris L. McKenna) and witnessed him brutally interrogate Fatah (guest star Farshad Farahat). When members of the militant Islamist movement Boko Haram kidnap 21 Nigerian girls, President Payton (Alfre Woodard) tasks Charlie with the logistically impossible -- to find and save the girls without Nigeria knowing the U.S. was ever involved. Meanwhile, President Payton hosts the Chinese president (Tzi Ma) at Camp David and realizes that she can use their trade talks to get something she really wants.

Watch a sneak peek below:

'State of Affairs' Sneak Peek: Secrets & Lies

Katherine Heigl as Charleston Tucker, Alfre Woodard as President Constance Payton, David Harbour as
Chief of Staff David Patrick. Photo Credit: Neil Jacobs/NBC)

State of Affairs is back tonight with its second episode, "Secrets & Lies," airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

Charleston (Katherine Heigl) and the team are in a race against the Russians over a stranded Russian submarine holding six months of stolen U.S. secrets -- their one advantage is that they have a CIA asset on board. At the same time, the texter persists, sending Charlie a damning picture, while Nick (Chris L. McKenna) forces her to question if Fatah was ever really her asset. Meanwhile, President Payton (Alfre Woodard) appoints a new CIA director, the formidable Ray Navarro (guest star Nestor Carbonell).

Watch a sneak peek below:

'State of Affairs' Premieres Tonight on NBC

Chris L. McKenna and Katherine Heigl in State of Affairs.

State of Affairs premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

CIA Analyst Charleston Tucker (Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy) still can't remember what really happens a year ago when the diplomatic convoy she was on was attacked in Kabul. While she and then-Senator Payton (Alfre Woodard, Desperate Hosuewives) barely made it out alive, Charlie's fiancé, Payton's son Aaron (guest star Mark Tallman), wasn't so lucky. Today is the one-year anniversary of Aaron's death; Payton is president, Charlie is her CIA briefer and together they're faced with a choice - try and avenge Aaron's death by going after Fatah (guest star Farshad Farahat), the terrorist responsible for the convoy attack, or hold off in favor of taking down his entire network in the future.

The cast includes Adam Kaufman as Lucas Newsome, Sheila Vand as Maureen, Cliff Chamberlain as Kurt, Tommy Savas as Dashiell Greer, David Harbour (The Newsroom, As the World Turns) as David Patrick and Chris L. McKenna (The Young and the Restless) as Nick Vera.

Watch a sneak peek below:

NBC Drama 'State of Affairs' Premieres November 17, Stars Katherine Heigl, Alfre Woodard

State of Affairs premieres November 17 on NBC.

NBC's highly touted drama State of Affairs will premiere on Monday, November 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. In the series, Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy) plays a CIA analyst who, faced with constant moral and political judgment calls, prioritizes the President's Daily Briefing.

Each day the President is faced with dozens of life and death decisions, and to prioritize the biggest international crises facing the country, one top CIA analyst - Charleston Tucker (Heigl) - assembles the President's Daily Briefing (PDB). This list of the most vital security issues facing the nation brings with it moral and political judgment calls for Charleston and her trusted group of brilliant analysts at the agency.