From cancellation to revival to cancellation again, Kiefer Sutherland’s political thriller “Designated Survivor” faced numerous obstacles during its run from 2016 to 2019. In all three seasons of the show, Sutherland starred as Tom Kirkman — a cabinet member who becomes president of the United States after an attack kills all of those slated to succeed ahead of him.
“Designated Survivor” aired its first two seasons on ABC before being canceled by the network in 2018. Later that year, Netflix picked up “Designated Survivor” for a third season produced by Entertainment One. But just one month after Season 3 premiered on the streaming platform in 2019, Netflix canceled “Designated Survivor” once again.
Regarding the reason ABC canceled the series, a report from Variety revealed that a lot transpired behind the scenes. Ratings dropped from Season 1 to Season 2, falling from an average of 12.1 million viewers to 8.6 million. Additionally, Sutherland, who was contractually granted jurisdiction over the showrunner, reportedly took issue with the creative direction of the series. The report also stated that his contract required production to be moved from Toronto to Los Angeles for Season 3, and the costs associated with that posed a problem for the future of “Designated Survivor” on ABC.
Designated Survivor Season 3 wasn’t much of a success
Fans of “Designated Survivor” were relieved when Netflix swooped in to rescue the show from cancellation, but the good news didn’t last long. Netflix did not explain its rejection of a potential fourth season, but it’s likely that viewership continued to trend downward after Season 2. “Designated Survivor” Season 3 additionally received mixed reviews from critics, earning a 67% Rotten Tomatoes score — only a slight improvement from Season 2’s 60% rating. Kiefer Sutherland and new showrunner Neal Baer couldn’t bring “Designated Survivor” back to Season 1’s triumphant 87% Rotten Tomatoes freshness score.
In the aftermath of Netflix calling it quits on the show, Sutherland made sure to share his appreciation for “Designated Survivor” fans who backed the project through its successes and shortcomings. “I wanted to take a moment to thank everybody for their incredible support of ‘Designated Survivor,'” Sutherland said in a video posted on Twitter. “The third season is the final season. And you guys have just been amazing. It was an honor to play Tom Kirkland, and thank you so much for supporting through the three seasons that we got to do.”
Despite switching platforms and being canceled twice, “Designated Survivor” is still available to stream on Netflix in its entirety.
