Designated Survivor: From What's Real To Television

Why Designated Survivor is still a guilty pleasure for all of us sick of

For all of you who are sick and tired of the political mess our country has been experiencing, there's an escape from reality that might put a smile on your face by tapping into the more wicked side of your feelings. Whether you're sick of the liberals, sick of the conservatives, tired of the faces on the left or the right, imagine escaping into a world full of hope and promise. And while the show has a name, it could have been called Wishful Thinking, If Only It Were True, or What A Once In A Lifetime Reset Looks Like.

Instead, it's not that evil. It's simply called Designated Survivor.

Is the Designated Survivor real? Yes. So, what is a Designated Survivor?

A designated survivor is the lucky guy who can sit out the long and often boring and ridiculous speeches, skipping out on having to weed through the lies and the political theatrics of things like the State of the Union. They're the luckiest of the lucky in the presidential line of succession, because they won't have to face the backlash of leaving the capital, the interviews, and the nonsense of the Presidents boasting about their accomplishments, downplaying their failures, or flat-out misrepresentation of the truth.

If you're in politics, this sounds like pulling the long straw before going on an unwanted mission into enemy territory.

To assure the continuity of government, a designated survivor is chosen from the line of succession. This is in case of a catastrophic event such as a bombing at the capital that wipes the slate clean of leadership. It started roughly in 1980, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was tasked with the job of ensuring presidential succession.

How it works is that someone in the president's orbit, like an aide, recommends to the president who should skip the events when all the successors would congregate together outside the White House.

The First Designated Survivor

The first Designated Survivor was soon after Ronald Reagan took office. Then Education Secretary Terrel Bell was chosen to sit out the speech to Congress in 1981.

Had something happened, a relatively low-level cabinet member like the Education Secretary would become the Doomsday President in the event that the president, vice president, Speaker, and all others in the line of presidential succession were to be incapacitated.

Who Can Be Designated as The Designated Survivor

In today's interesting climate in US Politics, some can't become the Designated Survivor. There's no worry about someone like Ilhan Omar suddenly becoming President of the United States. The requirements to be picked are the same as those to run for president, which are still low-hanging fruit. A designated survivor must be at least 35 years old and be a natural-born citizen.

For example, while President Biden was in office, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas were both not qualified to be chosen as designated survivors.

The designated survivor is often taken to a secure location, and it may not be known to the chosen one where they're going until they're already in transit. The person picked wouldn't be publicly acknowledged until after an event has already ended.

The Show

The show opens with a bit of background on Kiefer Sutherland's character, Tom Kirkman. Kirkman is the designated survivor for a speech by the current president, and he and his wife are taken to a spot in D.C. We learn that Kirkman isn't the president's favorite cabinet member, and that Kirkman was on the outs with his boss.

From the place he's being "held" by the Secret Service, Kirkman and his wife are watching the speech, managing their children, and then the unthinkable happens.

Now, the U.S. Housing Secretary, a mild-mannered man who genuinely wanted to serve so he could do some good, is thrust straight to the top of the mountain. Every member of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, and everyone else at the capital who could be in the line of succession is killed in a bombing.

The tragic events in the first hour lead to America in a crisis, an untested and unqualified president being sworn in, and the challenge of rebuilding some semblance of a working government as the world and America's enemies are all watching.

If you haven't seen Designated Survivor on Netflix, it's one of the grittier dramas to air on television and one of Kiefer Sutherland's most intriguing performances. The show's cast is stellar, including the talents of Maggie Q, who rises to be the president's boots on the ground as they investigate the truth behind what happened.