Designated Survivor: The Must-Watch Show of Fall 2016
It’s easy to fall in love with TV shows and still have doubts. Few shows are perfect. Most of them are a combination of things we love and things we can just put up with.
The thing is, you don’t have to love everything about a show. You can just fall for one character. You can love the plot, or the setup.
You can even love all those things and still think that, as good as a show is, you just don’t know where it’s going. You can’t see how it could survive the test of time. You can’t commit your heart to it – at least not yet.
That is definitively not the case with Designated Survivor.
If anything, Designated Survivor is the kind of show you can see going the distance. I’m not talking about a season here; I’m talking about as long as the people involved want to take it.
Those are big words for a show that, so far, has given us exactly one episode. Yet they are no less true for the lack of hard evidence to support our thinking. This is, after all, a very good pilot.
Not because it’s engaging, though it is. Not because in a sea of political dramas, the show finds a way to engage the audience that no other show has tried, though that also holds true.
And not because the actors are superb and believable, though it’s hard to think of a stronger cast on TV these days.
It’s because of all those things, and something else. It’s because of the inherent strength in the premise. It’s because we live in a world where we can imagine something like this happening, and yet, we never want it to.
Well, that and the flawless execution.
Mostly, Designated Survivor is a sure-fire hit because it’s the story of an every-day man. An every-day family. Us, in a way.
Kiefer Sutherland plays Tom Kirkman, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the everyday man in this scenario. He’s not a high-ranking official. He has a charming family, yes, but his career is not going exactly where he wants it to.
He’s been chosen as the “designated survivor” for the State of the Union Address.
Yes, this is an actual thing that happens. One of those weird just-in-case things that never, ever comes into play because, well, catastrophes of that level just don’t happen.
Right?
I just gave myself chills. The pilot episode will probably give you chills too. But it’s okay, because Kiefer Sutherland/ Tom Kirkman is here.
And he’s not your typical politician.
He’s a father. He’s a husband. He’s not the leader of the free world, but doesn’t look like the shoes are too big for him to fill.
It doesn’t look like this show is going to falter under the weight of our lofty expectations. It doesn’t look like I’m going to have to eat my words of praise.
Fall TV has never looked quite as exciting as it does this year, and Designated Survivor is a big reason why. If you’re only going to try one new show (and why would you limit yourself that way?), let it be this one.
You won’t regret it.
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Designated Survivor premieres Wednesday, September 21st at 10/9c on ABC.
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz
Lawyer. Writer. Columnist. Geek. Falls in madly in love with fictional characters. Hates the color yellow, misogyny, and people who are late. Can always be found with a book. Watches an absurd amount of TV every week, often, while eating coffee ice cream. She has no regrets. You can check out her blog here: Absurday. Lissete is a senior writer for Tell-Tale TV. Follow @lizziethat