Designated Survivor (TV series)
Designated Survivor is an American political thriller drama created by David Guggenheim. It stars Kiefer Sutherland as Thomas Kirkman, a United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who is named the designated survivor for the State of the Union. When a bombing kills the president and everyone ahead of him in the line of succession, Kirkman unexpectedly becomes President of the United States. He must govern a fractured country while uncovering who was behind the attack.
The show aired for three seasons. It started on ABC in 2016, was canceled by ABC after two seasons in 2018, and was then picked up by Netflix for a third season of 10 episodes, released in 2019. Netflix carried all three seasons globally, while the first two seasons were also produced with ABC Studios and distributed in the U.S. by Hulu before Netflix acquired international rights.
Main cast includes Kiefer Sutherland (Thomas Kirkman), Kal Penn (Seth Wright), Maggie Q (Hannah Wells), Natascha McElhone (Alex Kirkman), Italia Ricci (Emily Rhodes), Adan Canto (Aaron Shore), LaMonica Garrett (Mike Ritter), Tanner Buchanan and Mckenna Grace (Kirkman children). The series also features Paulo Costanzo, Zoe McLellan, and Ben Lawson, among others.
Designated Survivor was filmed in Canada (Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario) and Washington, D.C. It went through several showrunners during its run: Amy B. Harris initially, followed by Jon Harmon Feldman, Jeff Melvoin, and Neal Baer for the third season. Kal Penn also served as a consultant.
Reception was mixed. Season 1 earned strong early reviews (high Rotten Tomatoes score), while Seasons 2 and 3 drew more mixed responses. The pilot set a DVR viewing record. A South Korean remake, Designated Survivor: 60 Days, premiered in 2019.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:06 (CET).