So far, Designated Survivor has been a pretty straightforward series about terrorism, national security and a fairly unimportant person being thrust into the limelight. However, as it moves forward, apparently the ABC drama will take a break from all of the problems with the State of Michigan--not to mention the country of Algeria--in order to look into some domestic issues. And when we say domestic, this time we mean a secret from Kirkman's own family life is about to come to light.
Designated Survivor was off the air last week, but a new episode is set to hit the schedule on Wednesday. We know the episode is set to heavily follow President Kirkman's decisions regarding the Algeria issues and we know the Navy Seals will be involved in the decision. However, in one upcoming episode, we're apparently going to learn a major secret about a member of the Kirkman family. It's a secret so big that TV Guide reports it may "shake" Tom Kirkman's chances at retaining the Presidency in the coming weeks.
Obviously the outlet is being teasy about the big twist, and is only saying that one family member isn't exactly the person they are saying they are. I have no idea if this will be an immediate family member or one of Tom's parents or siblings, but if it is someone in the four-person unit, my bet is on Natascha McElhone's Alex Kirkman. If it's an extended family member, it could be anyone, but I'm guessing that Tom's young daughter and his dumbass drug-dealing son aren't harboring some secret identities. It only took Kirkman's bodyguard a few minutes to find the kid on the night of the terrorist attack, after all. A drug-dealing side gig is hardly a major identity secret.
Designated Survivor has so far spent most of its time acting as a political series and not a family-oriented one. Sure, Alex Kirkman has helped Tom in an advising capacity in a few key scenes and she's mostly been a supportive character, but the family storylines have so far played second fiddle to the enormous challenges Tom Kirkman must face every day. Especially since he's basically the President by default.
It's been nice to see Kiefer Sutherland back on TV in a starring role, and while he hasn't gotten up to as much action as he formerly got into on 24, I'm still really interested in how this show is panning out each week and ABC is, too, as the network has already signed on for additional episodes of the drama. If you haven't given it a chance, yet, give the pilot a go. Most VOD and some streaming platforms still have the episode available. New episodes of Designated Survivor air on Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET, only on ABC. To find out what else has yet to premiere, check out our fall TV schedule.
