Designated Survivor (TV series)

Designated Survivor
Genre	Political thriller
Created by	David Guggenheim
Starring	Kiefer Sutherland Natascha McElhone Adan Canto Italia Ricci LaMonica Garrett Tanner Buchanan Kal Penn Maggie Q
Theme music composer	Sean Callery[1]
Composer(s)	Sean Callery Robert Lydecker
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Mark Gordon[2] Nicholas Pepper Jon Harmon Feldman Kiefer Sutherland Suzan Bymel Paul McGuigan Amy Harris Aditya Sood David Guggenheim Simon Kinberg
Producer(s)	Richard Klein Ann Kindberg
Location(s)	Toronto, Ontario
Cinematography	M. David Mullen
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	42 minutes
Production company(s)	Kinberg Genre The Mark Gordon Company ABC Studios
Distributor	Disney-ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	1080p (HDTV)
Audio format	5.1 surround sound
Original release	September 21, 2016 – present
External links
Website

Designated Survivor is an American political drama television series created by David Guggenheim, and starring Kiefer Sutherland, airing on ABC. The project skipped the pilot stage and was ordered straight to series on December 14, 2015, followed by a formal announcement on May 6, 2016. The first season premiered on September 21, 2016, with a full season order of 22 episodes coming eight days later.

Plot

On the night of the State of the Union address, an explosion claims the lives of the President and all members of his Cabinet except for U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Tom Kirkman, who has been named the designated survivor. Kirkman is immediately sworn in as President, unaware that the attack is just the beginning of what is to come.

Cast and characters

Main

• Kiefer Sutherland as President Thomas "Tom" Kirkman, the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the designated survivor, who is sworn in as President of the United States following an unprecedented attack.^[3]
• Natascha McElhone as First Lady Alex Kirkman, Tom's devoted wife and an attorney employed at the EEOC who finds herself thrust into a role she is not prepared for.^[4]
• Adan Canto as White House Chief of Staff Aaron Shore, the former White House Deputy Chief of Staff and current Chief of Staff who advises Tom.^[5]
• Italia Ricci as Special Advisor Emily Rhodes, Tom's former Chief of Staff and a close family friend who is promoted to Special Advisor following his ascension to the Presidency.^[4]
• LaMonica Garrett as Mike Ritter, Tom's Secret Service agent who is tasked with ensuring the Kirkmans' safety in the wake of the attack.^[6]
• Tanner Buchanan as Leo Kirkman, Tom and Alex's rebellious teenage son whose self-absorbed nature is matched only by his need to support his younger sister.^[7]
• Kal Penn as White House Press Secretary Seth Wright, a former speechwriter who initially harbors strong doubts about Tom's abilities to lead the country but quickly becomes one of his closest advisors.^[4]
• Maggie Q as Hannah Wells, an FBI agent assigned to investigate the attack who suspects that the perpetrators are not yet finished.^[4]

Recurring

• Mckenna Grace as Penny Kirkman, Tom and Alex's daughter and Leo's younger sister.^[7]
• Malik Yoba as Jason Atwood, the seasoned Deputy Director of the FBI who spars with Hannah as she conducts her investigation into the attack.^[8]
• Kevin R. McNally as Harris Cochrane, a U.S. Army General who refuses to believe Tom is capable of running the country and contemplates taking matters into his own hands only to be fired for disregarding orders.
• Virginia Madsen as Kimble Hookstraten, a Republican Congresswoman and the designated survivor for the GOP who strongly supports Tom's authority while secretly harboring her own agenda.^[9]
• Ashley Zukerman as Peter MacLeish, a decorated Afghan War veteran and popular third-term Congressman from Oregon who becomes a national hero following the attack.^[10] He is later revealed to be working with the terrorists.
• Mykelti Williamson as Admiral Chernow, a career military man and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who becomes one of Tom's most trusted advisors.^[11]
• Michael Gaston as James Royce, the Governor of Michigan who defies the Kirkman administration and attempts to establish his own supreme authority only to be placed under arrest for treason.
• Mariana Klaveno as a clandestine operator in league with the people behind the Capitol attack.^[12]

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	Paul McGuigan	David Guggenheim	September 21, 2016	10.04[13]
When a sudden explosion destroys the Capitol Building during the State of the Union address, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Tom Kirkman is sworn in as President after learning that both his predecessor and all his fellow Cabinet members are dead. As he juggles adjusting to his new role and proving he is capable of leading the country, FBI agent Hannah Wells begins to suspect that the attack may have been the first of many.
2	"The First Day"	Brad Turner	Story by : Jon Harmon Feldman Teleplay by : David Guggenheim	September 28, 2016	7.97[14]
Kirkman deals with his first challenges as Commander in Chief when civil rights abuses in Michigan reach a fever pitch and the designated survivor for the Republican Party comes forward; Wells continues to believe that the FBI is being pointed in the wrong direction; and a survivor of the Capitol bombing is found.
3	"The Confession"	Sergio Mimica-Gezzan	Jennifer Johnson & Paul Redford	October 5, 2016	7.05[15]
Kirkman faces crisis after crisis as he juggles dealing with an interview that leaves many questioning the legitimacy of his Presidency and the fallout from a leaked video in which a terrorist group claims to be responsible for the bombing; Wells questions Congressman Peter MacLeish, the bombing's sole survivor, only to realize he is not telling her the whole truth; and Alex deals with a personal crisis when she discovers a bag of pills in Leo's bedroom drawer.
4	"The Enemy"	Paul Edwards	Dana Ledoux Miller & Jon Harmon Feldman	October 12, 2016	7.00[16]
Kirkman juggles continuing to deal with the issue of civil rights in Michigan and finding a terrorist believed to be responsible for the bombing; Hannah suspects MacLeish is not telling the truth about what happened on the night of the bombing; Alex seeks help from an unlikely ally; and Seth takes on an unexpected new job.
5	"The Mission"	Paul Edwards	Sang Kyu Kim & Michael Russell Gunn	October 26, 2016	5.96[17]
Kirkman dispatches a team of Navy SEALs to Algeria after learning that the government helped Majid Nassar elude custody; Wells learns the truth about MacLeish's movements on the night of the bombing; and Aaron confronts Alex with damning information from a man who claims to be Leo's biological father.
6	"The Interrogation"	Michael Katleman	Barbie Kligman & Jenna Richman	November 9, 2016	5.56[18]
Kirkman's plan to elect a new Congress is put in jeopardy after a shooting disrupts a Governor's Summit; Wells and Atwood interrogate Majid Nassar about his role in the bombing; and Aaron and Emily offer MacLeish the position of Vice President.
7	"The Traitor"	Frederick E. O. Toye	Jennifer Johnson & Michael Russell Gunn	November 16, 2016	5.52[19]
Kirkman attempts to negotiate a three-way spy trade with Saudi Arabia and Russia; Alex finds herself face-to-face with the man who claims to be Leo's biological father; and Wells pursues the only viable lead from the Majid Nassar interrogation only to endanger Atwood's family after uncovering a shocking secret.
8	"The Results"	Chris Grismer	Paul Redford & Sang Kyu Kim	November 30, 2016	5.45[20]
9	"The Blueprint"[21]	Richard J. Lewis	Dana Dedoux Miller & Michael Russell Gunn	December 7, 2016	TBD
10	"The Oath"[22]	Frederick E. O. Toye	David Guggenheim	December 14, 2016	TBD

Production

Development

Designated Survivor was ordered straight to series by ABC in December 2015,^[23] with a formal announcement of 13 episodes in May 2016.^[24][25] A month later, ABC revealed that the series would premiere on September 21, 2016.^[26] Eight days after the premiere, on September 29, 2016, ABC gave the series a full season order of 22 episodes.^[27]

Created by David Guggenheim, the series is executive produced by Simon Kinberg, Sutherland, Suzan Bymel, Aditya Sood, and Nick Pepper. Paul McGuigan directed the pilot episode. Amy B. Harris was set to be the showrunner in February 2016, but after the series' official pick-up in May, it was announced she would be stepping down due to creative differences, and that Jon Harmon Feldman was in talks to replace her.^[28] In July 2016, Feldman was confirmed as showrunner/executive producer.^[8] Kal Penn, formerly associate director in the White House's Office of Public Engagement, serves as a consultant for the series as well as acting in the main cast.^[29]

The series is produced by ABC Studios and The Mark Gordon Company, and is filmed in Toronto, Canada.^[30]

Writing

Producers Jon Harmon Feldman and Guggenheim described the series as more than one genre, drawing inspiration from other thriller-dramas, with Guggenheim explaining, "There is a West Wing component of a man governing and his team governing our nation at this critical time. It's also the Homeland aspect of investigating the conspiracy. It also has a House of Cards component, which is the characters and the business of government through the eyes of these characters."^[31][32]

Casting

Kiefer Sutherland plays the lead role, Tom Kirkman

Kiefer Sutherland joined the cast in December 2015, playing Tom Kirkman, a lower level United States Cabinet member who suddenly becomes President.^[33] Sutherland had previously no intention of doing television again, but changed his mind after reading the first script of the series, saying, "I remember getting to the end of the script and thinking I was potentially holding the next 10 years of my life in my hands."^[32]

In February 2016, it was announced that Kal Penn, Maggie Q, Natascha McElhone, and Italia Ricci had been cast as Kirkman's speech writer; Hannah, the lead FBI agent on the bombing of the Capitol; Kirkman's wife, an EEOC attorney; Emily, Kirkman's Chief of Staff, respectively.^[4] Shortly after, Adan Canto had joined the series as Aaron Shore, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.^[5] In early March, LaMonica Garrett joined the cast as Mike Ritter, Kirkman's Secret Service agent,^[6] and Tanner Buchanan and Mckenna Grace had been cast as Kirkman's children.^[7]

In July 2016, Malik Yoba was announced for a recurring role as Jason Atwood, the seasoned Deputy Director of the FBI, to appear in seven episodes,^[8] while Virginia Madsen had been cast in the recurring role of Kimble Hookstraten, a conservative Congresswoman and the designated survivor for the rival political party.^[34] A month later, Ashley Zukerman joined the series in a recurring role as Peter MacLeish, an Afghan War veteran and popular third-term Congressman.^[10] In September 2016, Mykelti Williamson was cast as Admiral Chernow, a career military man and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[11] On November 4, 2016, it was announced that Mariana Klaveno had been cast for the show as the Dark-Haired Woman, a clandestine operator in league with the people behind the Capitol attack.^[12]

Broadcast

Designated Survivor began airing on September 21, 2016, on ABC in the United States,^[26] and CTV in Canada.^[35] Netflix airs the series outside the U.S. and Canada,^[36] with distribution handled by eOne.^[37]

Marketing

A teaser trailer for Designated Survivor was released on May 6, 2016,^[24] with the full trailer released on May 17.^[38] Producers and some of the cast members promoted the series at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016, showing a special preview screening with co-stars Maggie Q and Kal Penn in attendance.^[39]

Reception

Critical reception

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 85% fresh rating based on 52 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Kiefer Sutherland skillfully delivers the drama in Designated Survivor, a fast-paced, quickly engrossing escapist political action fantasy."^[40] Metacritic reported a score of 71 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[41]

Terri Schwartz from IGN gave the first episode a rating of 8.0/10, saying, "Designated Survivor is a strong debut for a show that will fit well alongside Quantico and Scandal in ABC's government-set political drama lineup."^[42] Variety said that the episode "does everything it needs to, checking off the necessary boxes for the unwilling American hero-president in efficient, compelling scenes."^[43] Chuck Barney from Mercury News called the pilot "suspenseful".^[44] Writing for TV Insider, Matt Roush compared Designated Survivor with other series as he said "fall's niftiest new drama has West Wing idealism, Homeland suspense and House of Cards political intrigue in its robust and compelling DNA."^[45] Zack Handlen from The A.V. Club wrote positively about the show and the premiere, praising Sutherland's performance and commented on the symbol of Sutherland's glasses as he said, "The glasses he's wearing serve as a way to tell us this is a different kind of hero, but they're also a form of camouflage, making it easier for us to understand why so many people would underestimate this man."^[46]

The editors of TV Guide placed Designated Survivor first among the top ten picks for the most anticipated new shows of the 2016–17 season. In writer Alexander Zalben's overall review, he pointed out the keys to one of the strongest pilots he had seen so far: "Designated Survivor is the rare show that delivers on the hype, and surpasses it," and later stating "It's shocking that a show can balance all of these elements, but credit a magnetic cast that hits the ground running, a crack script that makes the first hour feel like 10 minutes and, of course, Sutherland as the anchor that keeps it all grounded." Zalben's review concluded with this recommendation: "There's a reason Designated Survivor wasn't just the top pick across all of our Editors' lists, but also on the list compiled from TVGuide.com viewers' Watchlist adds: this is a show that delivers on its premise, feels timely, and most importantly, is a ton of fun."^[47]

On the other hand, The Guardian's Brian Moylan criticized the dialogue, writing in his review that "this drama needs dialogue that won’t make the citizenry’s eyeballs roll", adding that the show features "meaningless platitudes" of an "we’re going to do this my way" attitude, and concluded by writing, "All we’re left with is a really great concept without the backing of a real leader behind it." Moylan also wrote that "there’s not enough family tension for it to be a domestic drama, not enough government intrigue to make it a political show, and not enough investigation to make it a procedural."^[48] TVLine's Dave Nemetz drew references between Kirkman and Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland's role in drama thriller 24, writing that "Sutherland does a good job portraying Kirkman’s deep ambivalence about the situation he’s been handed. But when he has to play hardball with an Iranian ambassador, the tough talk comes too easily to him. It’s like Kirkman has been possessed by the ghost of Jack Bauer". Nemetz also questioned the series' longevity; "As compelling as Designated Survivor's concept is, it’s hard to see how it will sustain itself as a weekly series".^[49]

Ratings

The first episode set a record for DVR viewers with 7.67 million, surpassing the September 25, 2014, record of almost 7 million set by the pilot of How to Get Away with Murder.^[50][51]

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	September 21, 2016	2.2/8	10.04[13]	2.2	7.67	4.4	17.71[50]
2	"The First Day"	September 28, 2016	1.8/6	7.97[14]	2.1	7.65	3.9	15.62[52]
3	"The Confession"	October 5, 2016	1.6/6	7.05[15]	1.9	7.32	3.5	14.33[53]
4	"The Enemy"	October 12, 2016	1.6/6	7.00[16]	1.9	6.89	3.5	13.89[54]
5	"The Mission"	October 26, 2016	1.2/5	5.96[17]	2.0	7.07	3.2	13.03[55]
6	"The Interrogation"	November 9, 2016	1.2/4	5.56[18]	1.8	6.36	3.0	11.92[56]
7	"The Traitor"	November 16, 2016	1.2/4	5.52[19]	1.7	6.40	2.9	11.92[57]
8	"The Results"	November 30, 2016	1.3/4	5.45[20]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
9	"The Blueprint"	December 7, 2016	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
10	"The Oath"	December 14, 2016	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

References

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6. Petski, Denise (March 1, 2016). "ABC's Designated Survivor Casts LaMonica Garrett; Jahmil French Joins A&E's The Infamous". Deadline. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
7. Ge, Linda (March 2, 2016). "ABC's Designated Survivor Casts Girl Meets World{'}s Tanner Buchanan (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
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51. Kissell, Rick (September 30, 2014). "ABC's 'How to Get Away With Murder' Premiere Sets DVR Playback Record". Variety. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
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53. Porter, Rick (October 19, 2016). "'Designated Survivor' lead broadcast Live +7 ratings for Oct. 3-9". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
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External links

• Official website
• Designated Survivor at the Internet Movie Database