You’re sitting in your office. You’re a high-level bureaucrat, but you don’t have much power. You mostly ensure that good management and good policies are enforced across your department. Suddenly, everything you once knew is flipped on its head and you are forced to deal with a horrifying new reality: you are the most powerful man in the world, leading a terrified nation, and no one wants you in the job.
That’s the basic set up for the Netflix series Designated Survivor starring Kiefer Sutherland, a proud Canadian and grandson of former NDP leader Tommy Douglas. As President Tom Kirkman, he launches from obscurity to the White House after a terrorist attack kills every other member of the US Cabinet and nearly every member of congress. The show, while only getting three seasons, is worth a watch with your family. It is well acted by a strong central cast of Sutherland alongside Maggie Q, as an FBI agent, and Kal Penn, as the President’s speech writer. The show deals with interesting hypotheticals for a nation and a world in crisis, from rebuilding the government, to accepting and growing into awesome and powerful responsibilities that you never wanted. If you enjoy political dramas, conspiracy theories, and shows you can theorize about, then this is a great watch for you.
Jonah van Driesum is the senior editor of Link, and co-host of our the MicroLink podcast!
