While Designated Survivor may fall below the 'must-watch' tier of TV shows it was still pulled in a pretty dedicated and enthralled fanbase; particularly when it made the move to Netflix. However, after three seasons it has sadly met its end, with Netflix announcing that it will not be returning for a fourth offering.
The political thriller debuted in 2016 on ABC in the US before being rescued by Netflix after its first cancelation at the end of the second season. The streaming giant brought it back a third instalment in June this year but have now confirmed the show will not be coming back:
We are proud to have offered fans a third season of ‘Designated Survivor,’ and will continue to carry all three seasons for years to come.
We’re especially thankful to star and executive producer Kiefer Sutherland, who brought passion, dedication and an unforgettable performance as President Kirkman. We’re also grateful to showrunner/executive producer Neal Bear for his guiding vision and steady hand, creator/executive producer David Guggenheim and EPs Mark Gordon, Suzan Bymel, Simon Kinberg, Aditya Sood and Peter Noah along with the cast and crew who crafted a compelling and satisfying final season.
Why was Designated Survivor Canceled?
While Netflix haven't explained their reason for canceling the show, Kiefer Sutherland's comments during an interview with Simon Mayo on Scala Radio yesterday are now made all the more interesting. He told Mayo that he was pessimistic about about a fourth season, saying that contracts and production scheduling were proving too complicated following its move from old school television:
We had an amazing experience with Netflix, and a kind of freedom that was wonderful – but the reality is, because the contracts were so complicated and different from network television to Netflix etc, they didn’t book a lot of the actors that were on the show, and they took other jobs, and I don’t blame them for a second for that.
He added "So I think doing a season 4 would be very complicated and difficult, and the truth is, I loved making that show – I also miss aspects of what I enjoyed about 24, which was something that was really visceral and physical, and so I think its time for us all to go and find something new to do.
Perhaps it may be a blessing in disguise for the legacy of the show in the long run, with a short and sweet three season run a welcome rarity in this day and age.
