Fall TV: Rev Up for New Shows4 of 10
7. "Designated Survivor" (ABC)
After returning to primetime briefly for a limited run on "24: Live Another Day," Kiefer Sutherland seems finally ready to put his Jack Bauer days behind him for good. In fact, he passed on "24: Legacy" in order to do this series. But he's not straying too far from the genre of politics-driven thrillers. In "Designated Survivor," Sutherland plays Tom Kirkman, a Cabinet Secretary who is thrust into the role of U.S. President by circumstance: An attack on the country kills everyone above him in the line of succession. Along for the ride is another familiar face to TV fans, Maggie Q, late of "Stalker" and "Nikita." And in a key supporting role is Kal Penn, with whom Sutherland collaborated on "24" and who plays a White House staffer. The latter is noteworthy since Penn actually worked in the White House during the first term of the Obama administration in the Office of Public Engagement.
After returning to primetime briefly for a limited run on "24: Live Another Day," Kiefer Sutherland seems finally ready to put his Jack Bauer days behind him for good. In fact, he passed on "24: Legacy" in order to do this series. But he's not straying too far from the genre of politics-driven thrillers. In "Designated Survivor," Sutherland plays Tom Kirkman, a Cabinet Secretary who is thrust into the role of U.S. President by circumstance: An attack on the country kills everyone above him in the line of succession. Along for the ride is another familiar face to TV fans, Maggie Q, late of "Stalker" and "Nikita." And in a key supporting role is Kal Penn, with whom Sutherland collaborated on "24" and who plays a White House staffer. The latter is noteworthy since Penn actually worked in the White House during the first term of the Obama administration in the Office of Public Engagement.
PeopleKiefer Sutherland
TitlesDesignated Survivor, Pilot