By Natalia Ahrens
With it being election season, I thought it would be fitting to write about a series on Netflix called “Designated Survivor.” After airing for two seasons on ABC, Netflix picked up the third season.
First coming onto Netflix in 2016, the series “Designated Survivor” is a government based series that explores the legislative branch of government in depth. The series begins with Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) as the very bottom member in the cabinet on the day of the State of the Union. He was picked, at random, to not go to the State of the Union and is the designated survivor. Kirkman is then sent to an undisclosed location with Secret Service to watch the speech. During the speech, there is a huge explosion at the Capitol Building. He is then quickly escorted to the White House, where he takes the oath to be the President of the United States as the sitting president and all attendees are confirmed dead. President Kirkman, along with his new staff, has to quickly reassemble Congress, and deal with people trying to get him out of the office. While this is going on, FBI agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q) dives deep into the investigation on why the explosion happened, and it isn’t always easy for her. She will be met with many twists and turns, and many people try to make sure she doesn’t find out the truth.
Overall, the first and second season of the series were incredible. Every episode had you engaged, and you never wanted to stop watching. I feel like it is a good way to get a sense of the government without actually being involved in politics. It really helps your understanding of the executive and legislative branches. As for me, I am particularly engaged and interested in the government, so that really had me hooked on the show even more. Especially in season one and two, there was never a dull moment in any episode, and it was very well written. However, season three was not the best in my opinion. The writer changed their style, and personally I saw it change the entire vibe of the show, so I stopped watching after the third episode of the third season. I would recommend this to anybody who has an interest in government.
