Dear Netflix: Order Designated Survivor season 4 on July 4
When is a Designated Survivor season 4 renewal coming? It could be soon — or it could be never. The ball is ultimately in Netflix’s court to make a decision, but there has been enough time now for them to see preliminary numbers on a season.
Netflix renewals are often tricky, but what we often see is that with shows that are reasonably new to the platform, they make their decision within a month or so after they launch. That’s not often the case, but that was the timeline with Lucifer earlier this year, plus many other shows that we have seen in the past. It makes more sense for Netflix to move quickly — it gives the creators more time to create, and also allows there to be a smaller window between seasons.
If the streaming provider uses the same rationale they did with Lucifer on Designated Survivor, we’ll likely find out the news at some point in the next couple of weeks. If they are renewing it, why not go ahead and celebrate Independence Day with a season 4?
We’ll admit — we’re not above any sort of kitschy promotional stunt to get a show like this more attention. Ordering a show that’s all about America on July 4 is one of the perfect ways to make it happen. Maybe you run the risk of the news getting buried in the press (not a lot of people are around on Independence Day), but we feel like it’ll get the buzz it needs. Plus, how hard is it for publications to post a press release? (The only other big TV-related news on the day is the launch of Stranger Things 3 — sure, it’s also at Netflix, but there’s room for both.)
There’s plenty of time for Netflix to make a decision on Designated Survivor after the fact; they don’t need to hurry over the next few days. We just know that in this business, trying to make a splash matters, and while season 3 found itself a viewing audience/plenty of praise from critics, it doesn’t generate the same amount of social-media buzz on its own as some of Netflix’s other hits. Every little bit of additional love you can give it matters.