Sutherland back as U.S. president
Season 2 of ‘Designated Survivor’ begins tonight
After a tumultuous year, many people doubted that this unlikely U.S. president would still be in office.
Yet here he stands, President Tom Kirkman — brought to life on the small screen by Kiefer Sutherland, the star of “Designated Survivor.’’
The action-packed White House drama returns for a second season today night on CTV and ABC.
At times, the nightmarish scenarios unfolding last season on “Designated Survivor’’ made the Donald Trump presidency seem as dull and predictable as an episode of “The Apprentice.’’
Things got off to an explosive start on the series when terrorists attacked and destroyed the U.S. Capitol during a State of the Union address, killing the man who was then president, the vice-president and all of his top advisers.
Mirroring actual U.S. emergency succession policy, the “designated survivor,’’ Kirkman — at the time the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development — was kept away from the address. He was hastily sworn in as president and had to immediately deal with mutinous military leaders, rebellious governors and the threat of more attacks.
When the series resumes tonight, a new opening sequence features an animated, timelapse rendering of the Capitol’s iconic dome being restored to its full, flag-waving glory.
“They must have had a lot of people working on that, don’t you think?’’ Sutherland joked.
It’s a quick way to show that the shot-in-Toronto series has moved on.
“The circumstance in which he became president was so large that it really did take a season to properly deal with that,’’ said the actor, still Jack Bauer fit at 50.
Season 2 will deal more with throwing a man who has no ambitions to be president into the toughest job in the world.
“Will it corrupt him? Will he actually fix a lot of the problems? That’s now what we’re focused on more than anything,’’ Sutherland said in a recent interview.
Returning characters include Natascha McElhone (“Californication’’) as Kirkman’s devoted wife Alex and Adan Canto as chief of staff. Italia Ricci, LaMonica Garrett, Kal Penn and Maggie Q also star.
Given the real president’s fixation with television, it would be reasonable to assume that Sutherland has received a tweet or two from the White House. Not so, said the actor.
“I think he’s probably a bit busy with the news channels, but no, certainly I have not heard from him,’’ Sutherland said.
“And the truth is, we’re witnessing one of the most bizarre times in American political history.’’
Sutherland said creator and executive producer David Guggenheim and the other showrunners and writers make no effort to weave real events into “Designated Survivor’’ storylines.