Designated Survivor season 3: Just how much edgier will it be?

Designated Survivor season 2 episode 2

Designated Survivor season 3 is coming to Netflix, some time this year. That much is assured, and with filming already done we’re just waiting now for the stories to be edited and placed online for us to dive in to.

There are a number of benefits that come with this show being on Netflix — for starters, if you love binge-watching you suddenly have the option to watch however many episodes whenever you want to watch them. We’ll admit that we are still a fan of traditional TV viewing in many ways, but for other people out there we know that the convenience of “watch when you want” is preferred.

Want more Designated Survivor videos? Then check out our most recent one below all about why Netflix swooped in to save the show! Remember that you can subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube if you want to stay in-the-know with Designated Survivor moving forward.

Now let’s jump into the subject of this particular article: The content. Being on Netflix means no more FCC monitoring what you say/don’t say on network television airwaves, meaning that there can be more strong language, darker themes, and the sort of stuff you’d see on cable or even premium cable … depending on how extreme they really want to get here.

So how extreme could the third season get? In a post earlier this year on Instagram, cast member Kal Penn noted that you should “definitely put the kids to bed before watching the new episodes.” More than likely, that means a lot more swearing, at the very least. Designated Survivor is not going to suddenly get to the Game of Thrones level of debauchery so don’t expect heads being chopped off, and unless President Kirkman visits some sort of beach colony, odds are the characters will have their clothes on most of the time. Language is likely the major way that Designated Survivor will be different — not swear-every-other-word different, but likely a closer reflection to the real world. The subject matter itself will also be a little bit more intense, which is likely a byproduct of the show being somewhere that isn’t as afraid of advertisers getting nervous as ABC was.

Is there a good comparison out here to what Designated Survivor could be like?

We’d almost compare it to the earlier seasons of Suits compared to the later seasons — we know that they are all on the same cable network, but over time USA loosened the screws and allowed for some stronger language to sneak in. So long as you watch some PG-13 or R-rated movies, it’s not going to offend you … but we’d probably listen to what Penn has to say before you consider letting your kids watch. There are probably some better ways to teach them about politics – as a matter of fact, we’d probably recommend doing that away from television in general — probably not the most even-handed source out there these days.

The real benefit to being on Netflix, more than just “edgier” material, is creativity. It doesn’t matter so much the subject matter; it must just be nice to be able to cultivate some thoughtful, timely stories without having the same tight standards-and-practices oversight hovering above you.

While you wait for more Designated Survivor, there’s one more thing we would advice checking out: The story here, which is all about what we know about the season to date.

How edgy is too edgy for you in regards to Designated Survivor season 3 on Netflix? Share some of your thoughts on the matter below. (Photo: Netflix.)

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