Designated Survivor season 3: Kiefer Sutherland on uncertain future

Kiefer Sutherland has had an a fun run the past two years as Tom Kirkman on Designated Survivor, but with that, the show’s future is still technically in limbo. Weeks ago there were reports that studio Entertainment One was in discussions with Netflix about potentially picking the show up, but there hasn’t been all that much in the way of word out there regarding it since that time.

Given that Designated Survivor hasn’t had a revival campaign on the level of a Lucifer or a Shadowhunters on social media, the odds of it returning are very much uncertain, though the appeal of the show internationally with that audience is big given Sutherland’s star power and the presence of politics in the cultural zeitgeist. We also think it matters that Kiefer himself remains interested in being part of the show, provided that it is told in the proper medium that allows for the right sort of expression of the story. Here’s some of what he had to say in a recent BBC Radio Two interview (listen more below):

“I think there are real highlights with the show, and I’m being very honest, there were some aspects of the show we didn’t get right. I think one of the problems was that, I feel, there were too many cooks in the kitchen. The great thing about Netflix is the format with which they make their shows. It’s a very different way, not governed by this over-body of a network or anything else. If we were to do it, that would be the best circumstance ever. I would be very excited about that.”

Sutherland has a point when it comes to the creative challenges with the show at ABC, given that there were several different showrunners across two seasons and also a lot of turnover with the cast including Alex Kirkman’s death at the halfway point in season 2. Much of it in some ways got in the way of what was, at its heart, a story about an outsider having to figure out how to govern the right way and handle the pressure of being the leader of the free world. Kiefer is right, though — when Designated Survivor was great, it was outstanding and for CarterMatt he was a big reason for that.

We’ll see if anything else happens, but Designated Survivor seems like a perfect companion for Netflix given that A) it would have an opportunity to be so much edgier there and B) we do think that with House of Cards ending, the service needs a political show.

Once there is some more news to report on, we’ll have it for you here — for now, like CarterMatt on Facebook for a lot more of the latest. (Photo: ABC.)