A low-level Cabinet member becomes President of the United States after a catastrophic attack kills everyone above him in the line of succession. Kiefer Sutherland stars as Tom Kirkman, a lower-level cabinet member who is suddenly appointed President of the United States after a catastrophic attack on the US Capitol during the State of the Union, on the highly anticipated series Designated Survivor. In this dramatic thriller, Kirkman will struggle to keep the country and his own family from falling apart, while navigating the highly-volatile political arena and while leading the search to find who is responsible for the attack. This show started on a premise that can lead to a really good story, but it failed miserably due to the poor storyline.<br/><br/>First of all, there is an exuberance of lighthearted scenes in the immediate aftermath of the terrible bombing that had supposedly wiped out most of the white house and congress. How is it possible that the first lady in the show, a lawyer herself, could take the whole event so lightly and even afford to display smiles in the evening of the most terrible attack since the founding of the nation? <br/><br/>As I watch further, my disappointment grew. The only storyline worth watching is that of the investigation led by the FBI agent Hannah Wells. And the attempts by the scriptwriter in delaying/forbidding the revelation of her work are simply ludicrous and therefore prove fatal to this show. So she was on her way to present the most critical evidence against the VP candidate MacLeish and when she walked out of car accident site she just happened to leave the evidence behind to be destroyed!? And if Kirkman just possesses simplest logic reasoning surely he would know that MacLeish's background is dubious. Many of the actions taken by Kirkman are simply inconsistent with his character and this confirms the terrible character development by the scriptwriters. <br/><br/>I knew this is not going to be as good as House of Cards - the level of diplomacy crisis/counter strategies on display here is kid's play compared to that. But given the ratings here/ rotten tomatoes /other sources, I expected at least a coherent storyline. This is one of the worst shows I've watched. I wish Tom Kirkman were our actual president! Great characters and keeps you going!
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296 weeks ago