’24’ alum Kiefer Sutherland officially heading back to TV with ABC’s ‘Designated Survivor’

While “24” may be coming back to television for the upcoming season with “24: Legacy,” it’s not going to be featuring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer.

Instead, it appears as though the actor officially now has a different job. Today, ABC officially announced that they have ordered to series “Designated Survivor,” a really powerful new drama for the fall that features the actor as a lower cabinet member in the United States government who, after a devastating attack on Washington DC, ends up taking up the mantel of being President of the United States. He takes the oath, and soon after that starts to see much of his life crumble under the pressure.

Just when it comes to the concept alone, we’re going to say pretty confidently that we really dig the concept of the show. We love the drama of it, Sutherland is more than likely going to be a compelling lead, and with the Presidential election coming this fall, the timing also couldn’t be better. We also think that the title for the show is memorable, though we do wonder if someone out there will accidentally drop the first word of the title and get it confused for “Survivor” on CBS.

We’re even going to go out on a limb here with a scheduling suggestion. With “Scandal” likely on hold until midseason due to Kerry Washington’s pregnancy, why not throw this show into that Thursday timeslot? While it may not be standard #TGIT material in that Shonda Rhimes is not involved, it has politics front and center in the same way that “Scandal” does.