ABC already has a political drama TV series in Shonda Rhimes’ “Scandal” but it seems that the network was able to hit a goldmine last year with the premiere of its new political drama “Designated Survivor,” starring Hollywood veteran actor Kiefer Sutherland.
“Designated Survivor” presents a telling fantasy of an American government that was blown to smithereens. The last time that a political plot as thick as such happened was in the political suspense novels of Tom Clancy, particularly “Executive Order.”
Because the show’s execution of the plot is seamless, the concept immediately caught the viewers’ attention and the show has been really engrossing. Apart from the fact that the topic is so ridiculously cheesy, “Designated Survivor” also exudes emotions that are so deliberately over the top, points out Variety.
The first episode of “Designated Survivor” Season 1 premiered on September 21 and ABC made the full season order of 22 episodes some eight days later.
Superb and compelling plotline
While it is almost impossible to happen in real life, the plotline of “Designated Survivor,” really makes it a compelling watch.
It just gave political drama a twist that has never been considered on a TV series of similar genre.
It is not just the viewers who are giving their thumbs up to “Designated Survivor” but also the TV critics who have all gave positive reviews on the show. In Rotten Tomatoes, the TV series has earned a superlative rating of 85% while it got 71% on Metacritic. For IMDb, “Designated Survivor” has earned a score of 8 with 10 being the highest.
Kiefer Sutherland takes on the role of US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Tom Kirkman, who was immediately sworn into office as President after the President and all members of his Cabinet died during an explosion on the night of the State of the Union address.
With Kirkman as the designated survivor, he takes on the role of President not knowing that the attack is just the beginning of what is to come.
As seen during the pilot episode, Kirkman was an unwilling American hero-president in some compelling scenes.
While it is obvious that “Designated Survivor” is not a show for everyone, it actually comes with one of the highest-quality pilot broadcasts that ABC offered in the fall of last year. It is nonetheless a political thriller drama which happens to have shades of “24” meeting “The West Wing” and suddenly has a fling with “Air Force One.”
A symbolic representation for Americans
Apart from being reliably engaging, wholesome, and a bit silly, “Designated Survivor” actually creates a stunningly symbolic representation of the hopes and fears of the American electorate in 2016.
It can be recalled that “Designated Survivor” Season 1 recently ended with a major cliffhanger.
Accordingly, fans will have to wait for the next season in March 2017 to know what would become of President Tom Kirkman and Peter MacLeish, played by Ashley Zukerman, notes the International Business Times of Australia.
During the Season 1 finale episode, entitled “The Oath,” MacLeish’s confirmation vote is still bound to happen.
Hookstratten, played by Virginia Madsen, tried to delay the arrival of Hannah, played by Maggie Q, but the other congressmen were already getting impatient. Ultimately, Hannah failed to arrive and the potential terrorist was voted as the new VP of the United States.
In the episode, MacLeish and his wife were getting ready for the swearing-in ceremony. He was having doubts and shared whether he could go through with becoming vice president. His wife assured him that it was exactly what they have been working for.
She explained that MacLeish was chosen to survive for a reason. His wife added that he was given the huge task to restore America to the empire that it used to be and can be again.