Designated Survivor season 2 to focus on war, mourning for Tom Kirkman

Designated Survivor season 2 is returning to ABC with new episodes starting up on Wednesday night, but as you’re about to find out this is going to be a pretty emotional series of episodes for Kiefer Sutherland’s Tom Kirkman. This isn’t just about the character mourning the loss of his wife Alex. It’s also about him potentially having to mourn many other as a war is about to break out.

As executive producer Keith Eisner noted to TV Guide, seeing Kirkman struggle with leading a country through this time of crisis is going to be one of the central themes of what’s coming — and it is not going to be easy on him:

“Without getting too specific, we have the United States at war in the back half [of Season 2] … What is it like to be a wartime president when you’re alone in the White House? And does solitude effect your decision making process?”

This story is going to be about brief and, by and large, this could prove to be incredibly entertaining. This is when Eisner really should have momentum going for him as a showrunner since he’s working more from his own material, as opposed to work that was done before his arrival that he had to resolve. With that said, the larger concern with Designated Survivor is a commercial concern — the ratings were not exactly fantastic back when the second season first started up and, given that we are now dealing with a pretty hefty hiatus, there is no guarantee that the numbers are even going to be what they were. This is absolutely something that should be considered now — if you love Designated Survivor, the best thing that you can either do is watch live, DVR, or watch online at some point in the days that follow it coming on the air. Do something to help the network continue to make money from the series.

What do you anticipate coming for Kirkman on Designated Survivor season 2? Be sure to share some of your thoughts on that subject below!

Remember, you can also like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you want to get some other insight when it comes to the series. (Photo: ABC.)