Designated Survivor is a series about a low level member of the cabinet who got caught up in a political turmoil that led him to become the President of the United States after a deadly terrorist attack in the white house during the State Union Address killing all the members of the cabinet above him leaving him the lone survivor thus making him the last in the line of succession.
The story follows the journey of Tom Kirkman, a low-level member of the cabinet played by Kiefer Sutherland as he faces the challenges of his unexpected presidency following the massive attack carried on by terrorists. At the same time, Tom attempts to solve who is behind the attack and the reason behind it.
As he carries on his presidency, he is faced with challenges he has never faced before being the housing secretary like handling national security and/or lack of trust from his very own cabinet members.
About the Character
Tom Kirkman is a fictional character played by Kiefer Sutherland who initially served as the Housing and Urban Development Secretary. A principled and dedicated public servant with a background in urban planning and architecture.
In the series, Kirkman became the highest-ranking public official by becoming the President of the United States after a devastating terrorist attack during the State of the Union address leaving him the designated survivor.
Not a career politician, he is forced to quickly adapt to his new role as the Commander-in-Chief and is faced with leadership challenges, crisis management and finding out who is behind the terrorist attack.
He is portrayed as a determined and compassionate leader who took oath to defend democratic values, rebuild and protect the nation.
Kiefer Sutherland as Tom Kirkman
One of the best aspects of Sutherland’s performance is his ability to effectively portray his character from the timid housing and urban planning secretary and transformed to the assertive and commanding character as President Tom Kirkman. His acting skill captured his character as the President’s and masterfully conveyed his character’s vulnerability, struggles as well as his determination to uphold his political and democratic values.
In conclusion to his performance, he effectively combined his authenticity and captured the audience’s empathy with his character’s journey as the story progressed. Undoubtedly, Kiefer gave justice to the character and was the perfect fit.
About the series
Designated Survivor started on a high note receiving high praises from critics especially on its first three episodes. The first season was compelling and each episode was so engaging that it attracted interest from viewers, including me due to its political theme. After the first season, the series steered away from the original plot and seemed to have become a spy show rather than continue focusing on the original storyline focusing on the main character, Kirkman and his role as the designated survivor. The focus shifted in Maggie Q’s character, Hannah Wells, the FBI undercover who was assigned to investigate the deadly attack on the United States Capitol during the State of the Nation address that left all the members of the cabinet dead.
The show’s shift to focus on a completely different story line lost its originality as it became more of a political spy series rather than a series that focuses on the political theme revolving around Tom Kirkman’s presidency and accurate representation of the politics and government operations in the United States causing loss of interest from viewers eventually causing the ratings to drop drastically.
It also drew flak over some inconsistencies about the questionable portrayal of the main character’s presidency along with some high-ranking members of the cabinet disrespecting the president and running everything on their own.
The Downfall
The first season of Designated Survivor was without a doubt, one of the best series I have watched in a while. The plot twists, the exciting scenes really got me hooked. I am into politically motivated movies, series and documentaries which explains why I chose to do a review of this series.
However, the decision to focus on a spy themed storyline lost my interest much like other viewers who liked it due to its political and government conspiracy theme. This decision led to heavy and consistent decline of viewership from the second down to the third and last season.
This, along with many other factors led to some changes in scheduling, even changing platforms in their attempt to revive the series and gain viewership proved to be too late to save the series’ fate and ultimately got officially cancelled and ended on its third season.
The Verdict
Designated Survivor is a suspense filled series and a captivating political series revolving around political and government crises. The show managed to garner so much interest from viewers who enjoy contemporary topics such as terrorism and cybersecurity as well as international relations.
Additionally, Kiefer Sutherland’s portrayal of his character as he faced the challenges as he became the United States of America’s Commander-in-Chief by becoming the President overnight.
Despite some negative feedback from viewers due to some accusations of rushed and underdeveloped storyline along with the shift from its original storyline, Designated Survivor is a persuasive thriller that offers a glimpse of political, and government leadership in the United States. It remains an engaging display of exploration of power and resilience. Qualities that kept its solid fan base despite the flaws.
According to Sonya Saraiya’s review of the series published on the website Variety on Sep 13, 2016: “It’s annoying how good Designated Survivor is. Annoying, because the topic is so ridiculously cheesy, and the emotions so deliberately over-the-top. And yet the concept is immediately engrossing, and the execution nearly seamless.”
As an avid fan of political drama series, I am satisfied overall despite the shift of the theme to more of a spy theme. This is one of the few series I have watched that really got my interest. With that being said, I would give it a rating of 3.5 out of 5. As for Kiefer’s performance, 5/5.
Written by Rafael Espiritu, Lethbridge College
