TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Kiefer Sutherland skillfully delivers the drama in Designated Survivor, a fast-paced, quickly engrossing escapist political action fantasy.
Episodes
Designated Survivor: Season 1 Videos
Designated Survivor: Season 1 Photos
Tv Season Info
Cast
as Tom Kirkman
as Jessica Kirkman
as Aaron Shore
as Emily Rhodes
as Mike Ritter
as Leo Kirkman
as Seth Wheeler
as Hannah Watts
as Kimble Hookstraten
as Harris Cochrane
as Abe Leonard
as Senator Jack Bowman
as Jason Atwood
as Penny Kirkman
as President Cornelius Moss
as Herself
as Nolan
as John Forstell
as Lawrence
as President Richmond
as Ambassador Ahmed Fayad
as Charlie Langdon
as Acting Defense Secretary
as Acting FBI Director
News & Interviews for Designated Survivor: Season 1
Critic Reviews for Designated Survivor: Season 1
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (8)
Happily, there's not a skerrick of Jack Bauer on display.
Sure, it's a far-out premise, but the suspenseful pilot gets your adrenaline pumping and it's fun watching Sutherland navigate a role where he can't rely on snapping anyone's neck -- at least not yet.
This is so chilling a premise, it's not something many of us want to think about, especially in these troubling times, and that makes Designated Survivor both disturbing and riveting.
Overly familiar story beats and cardboard character cutouts in Wednesday's opener blunt the return of Jack Bauer 2.0. A hint of genuine promise, however, remains.
The pilot is terrific, as it moves briskly through the horrific events that lead to Kirkland's ascension, featuring troubling images of the Capitol sending fire into the Washington, D.C., sky.
The best new show on ABC illustrates how much star power can still carry a program.
Audience Reviews for Designated Survivor: Season 1
The premise is pretty terrible, which doesn't save the series from a bunch of unlikable characters and ridiculous plot that goes no where
Super Reviewer
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