Designated Survivor 1×01 “Pilot” Review

Kiefer Sutherland as President of the United States? ‘Designated Survivor’ is a fun concept, delivered on by a strong pilot.

Often times, high concept ideas that manifest themselves into pilots and a fully-fledged TV series would have been better served just remaining as an idea. And television - broadcast television in particular - has so frequently and tirelessly opted for these types of developments in recent years that when one fails, it’s difficult not to approach the next with trepidation.

Enter ‘Designated Survivor’, ABC’s latest series starring Kiefer Sutherland as Tom Kirkman, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Kirkman is named the “designated survivor”, an individual in the presidential line of succession who is kept in a secure location when the remaining top leaders are gathered in a single location. Here, it’s the State of the Union address. When Capitol Hill is attacked and the entire Cabinet is killed, Kirkman is sworn in as President of the United States.

Oh, and to top things off, he was effectively fired by the existing President earlier that morning.

The pilot explores Kirkman as he’s thrust into the job, with his wife and children terrified and jarred by the evening’s events. Unsurprisingly, he isn’t a natural, with uncertainty from almost every corner of the White House and even hints of a betrayal. The question is: Can he cope in the job?

Sutherland leads from the front, even when Kirkman doesn’t.

Three key scenes elevate this pilot from one that’s entirely fine, but not especially enthralling, to one that keeps you fixated; two of those are a direct result of Kiefer Sutherland’s terrific performance.

Late on in the hour, Kirkman confronted an Iranian ambassador about strategic movements his country had just made. After being doubted by everyone, including himself, he was firm and - dare I say it - presidential in his demands. With years of playing Jack Bauer under his belt, Sutherland was able to find the appropriate confidence level with which to deliver the scene, and it paid off. Kirkman may still be finding his feet, but he at least inspired some confidence in his leadership ability.

“I’m not the guy for this.” - Tom Kirkman

On the other end of the spectrum comes his first entrance to the White House as President. Kirkman’s swearing-in was an oddly tense affair, giving off a sense of unease just minutes after several unnamed - but important in the show’s context - characters had been wiped out. Really, it’s that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, watching as Kirkman, visibly petrified, takes the oath. Sutherland manages to convey the appropriate sense of dread and inexperience as he lives this insanity. He’s thirteenth in line for the Presidency; his demeanour seems relatively calm, given the circumstances.

Throughout, he possesses a squirmy quality that perfectly reflects the outlandishness of the situation. Kirkman was thrown into the deepest of deep ends, and Sutherland captures that. Truly, he was a perfect choice for the role.

Family comes first for Tom Kirkman, but how long can that last as leader of the free world?

Kirkman’s aforementioned impending dismissal from his role in the government upset him but angered his wife, Alex (Natascha McElhone). At least his replacement job did. Offered an ambassadorial role in Montreal, Alex expressed her frustration at having to upend their family’s life, but Tom suggested an alternative: He commutes and they can remain living in D.C.

Equally, his immediate concern for his children while being rushed to the White House displays where his priorities lie.

It’s clear, then, that Kirkman cares about his family above all else. That’s a strong quality to have for a man in his position. Leading the United States will take commitment and care that has the entire American population in mind as a second family.

Contrastingly, however, what will come of his actual family? Being President isn’t a straightforward job, and though not every day will be as chaotic as his first evening in charge, his time will be split between his country and his family. That’s sure to cause tension, particularly between him and his wife, which is an exciting prospect.

Is the attack on Capitol Hill just the beginning?

FBI agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q), self-appointing herself a role on the ground in the explosion’s aftermath, believes from her experience that this no one has claimed responsibility because they aren’t finished. So, could there be more attacks to come?

It makes sense. If this is the only attack, Wells is left stuck between a rock and a hard place. 22 episodes of her investigating this one bombing will get tiresome quickly. Only by severely limiting her screen-time can that be avoided, and that presents problems of its own.

The question now becomes how the show balances Wells’ plot with the main focus on Kirkman. Clearly, there’s intent for development in place; her frequent concerns for “Scott”, whose identity we don’t know, means that the case will almost certainly become personal for her. A long-term game plan is perhaps dangerous too: This plot is somewhat limited in its mileage. At some point, likely by the end of the season, it will need to be wrapped up in lieu of needlessly dragging it out.

Still, there’s potential here.

Final Verdict: The road ahead looks good, but exercising some caution wouldn’t be inadvisable.

High concept ideas that become good pilots don’t necessarily become good shows. Certain ideas can only be sustained so long, and it can become clear very, very quickly that there is only a couple of hours of coherent story within. The shelf life of ‘Designated Survivor’ will be determined over the coming weeks as it displays how it plans to churn out narrative on a weekly basis. Does it become a procedural with Kirkman dealing with a crisis per week? Is it entirely an ongoing story, both in the White House and at the FBI? That’s all to come.

For now, all that we can judge the series on is the pilot. And as pilots go, this was a good start. There’s enough intrigue and potential to hook viewers, at least for the time being, and it’s clear that, if nothing else, the creative team have a plan to develop Kirkman. As so often is the case after a strong pilot, I’m cautiously optimistic for what comes next. Episode writer and showrunner David Guggenheim has established this world well, putting the show in good stead for the future. Let’s see how it all comes together - our Four Episode Challenge will give more of an indication on where things stand.

Questions and comments

• General Harris Cochrane (Kevin R. McNally) insinuated that overthrowing Kirkman would be the best thing for the country. He’ll presumably become the antagonist of sorts, at least for the foreseeable future.
• Leo’s (Tanner Buchanan) a drug dealer? Attempt to make the Kirkman children relevant and/or interesting does not actually make the Kirkman children relevant and/or interesting.
• I think my eyes nearly rolled out of my head as Leo inadvertently inspired his father. Just a tad of a cliché. Also, “At the end of the day, I’m not the President of the United States.” And, just for good measure, the ‘bomb is actually a dud’ artificial tension cliché.
• There are at least three actors in this pilot not named Kiefer Sutherland who also appeared on ’24’. Kal Penn, Kevin R. McNally and Peter Outerbridge all had roles in the FOX drama. There were probably others that I didn’t notice.
• I’m actually disappointed that we didn’t get to see the speech. Hopefully, the second episode will kick off there.
• Some history between Emily (Italia Ricci) and Aaron (Adan Canto), it seems. Curious to know what’s happened there. Given that both are Chiefs of Staff - Emily is Tom’s personal one, Aaron the White House Deputy - I can probably make an educated guess.
• At least Wells didn’t suggest the lack of chatter was due to the attack being an inside job. My enthusiasm for a conspiracy in this show would have been exactly zero.

‘Designated Survivor’ airs Wednesdays at 10pm on ABC.