what day does designated survivor come on
[Warning: This adventure contains spoilers from Wednesday's alternation premiere of Appointed Survivor.]
If you anticipation Kiefer Sutherland already lived through some actual bad days, you don't apperceive jack.
The adept brilliant of 24 returns not alone to television, but to the apple of high-octane political thrillers, in the anatomy of Appointed Survivor, the new ABC alternation that sees low-level chiffonier affiliate Tom Kirkman (Sutherland) advance into the role of Admiral of the United States afterwards every distinct actuality added forth in the band of assumption dies in a massive agitator advance during the State of the Union.
Tom is presented as an everyman, adequate sipping a Presidente beer while lounging in his admired Cornell University hoodie, accepting adapted an abominable breakfast for his ancestors beforehand in the day. That everyman is about to face some of the best absurd scenarios to imagine, alpha with how to acknowledge to addition nation's aboveboard ascent assailment — with abandon in turn, or with diplomacy. It's alone the aboriginal of several difficult decisions Tom will accept to accomplish as Appointed Survivor moves forward.
"He goes from a amiable ancestors man, to absolutely the best important baton in the chargeless world," showrunner Jon Harmon Feldman tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I anticipate what [series architect and pilot biographer David Guggenheim] did was actualize a abundant arc for this appearance whose life, in an instant, turns 180 degrees."
For a afterpiece attending at the alternation premiere, and a faculty of what's ahead, The Hollywood Reporter sat bottomward with showrunner Jon Harmon Feldman to altercate Sutherland's acknowledgment to television and affective on from Jack Bauer, the already and approaching Tom Kirkman, and more.
Early in the premiere, Tom learns that not alone will his initiatives as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development not accomplish the State of the Union speech, but that he's on the bend of accident his job. How did Tom acquisition himself in this accident situation?
Again, this was all broiled into David's script. It's the abstraction of a guy who is an independent. He's not a affiliate of the affair of the President, the affair that's in power. He was a low-level, some would say the everyman level, chiffonier member, whose own backroom as an absolute was, to some degree, out of footfall with the backroom of the administration. Alike while confined in the administration, he was an outsider. He was afar from the capital centermost of power. We set up this man who, alike in his able world, is a bit of an alien and is activity to become in a amount of moments the ultimate insider. It's a abundant bond of this guy's life, and the massive changes it's undergone in a amount of a few hours.
It's appealing bright that Tom is not a political animal. He's an bookish at heart.
Right. Unlike a lot of politicians who go to Washington gluttonous power, he's the attenuate bird who went there gluttonous change and gluttonous to advice people. What he bound accomplished is allowance bodies in Washington is easier said than done. His backroom are out of footfall with the administration, his appearance to some amount is out of footfall with the administration, and this contributed to a faculty that he's expendable, that he was offered a reassignment. Pejoratively we could say he was accursed in the pilot. He's alleged the appointed survivor artlessly because he's a guy who doesn't matter. He was an after-thought.
Tom receives the alarm that he's not activity to appear the State of the Union, and instead has been alleged appointed survivor. Can you allotment some acumen into how this activity works, based on your research?
Basically, addition is alleged from the affair in power, from that presidential administration, to sit out and be in a defended area aback the blow of the government is assembled. It's a failsafe that's acutely never been activated, but it's a activity I accept was started during the Cold War, and continues to this day. In absolute life, you can attending it up — there are arresting politicians who accept been asked to sit out and be the appointed survivor. On our show, what's fun about it, is that the actuality who sits out is addition we apriorism didn't amount to this administration.
Should we be apprehensive of Tom's alternative as the appointed survivor? Why it's him accurately who was placed in this position?
That's a abundant question. I will say that it's a catechism that will be asked as we get added into the show: Why was he chosen?
The chiffonier and assembly are decimated, and Tom is instantly swept up by abstruse service, brought into a abstruse bunker, and advance into action. In agreement of the procedural element, how carefully does this mirror what would absolutely happen, as far as your analysis tells you?
David researched that extensively. The calligraphy affectionate of hewed to what David's analysis and what our advisers and consultants on the appearance affectionate of vetted as the best aboveboard way these contest would booty place. David's calligraphy approved to hew as carefully against a real-life bearings as accessible — should the doubtful accept anytime happened.
Tom meets speechwriter Seth Wright, Kal Penn's character, in the bathroom, bonding over their alternate abhorrence and all-overs over Tom's presidency. Things absolutely alpha on the amiss bottom amid them, but what can you say about how their accord will grow?
Kal is such a abundant amateur and he brings so abundant personality and amusement to the appearance of Seth Wright.
And White House experience, as well.
Exactly. Real-life White House experience. In fact, Kal is one of the consultants on our show, because he absolutely formed in the White House. We accept some abundant actuality planned for Seth. His ability aural the administering will grow, because remember, the bombing claimed over a thousand lives, and now not alone charge Kirkman footfall up and ample a role he's never played before, abounding bodies charge footfall up and ample roles they've never abounding before. Kal will become one of those bodies as he sees his able duties expand, and the challenges that face his appearance abound over the advance of the series.
Can you busy on that abstraction a bit more, that this appearance takes abode in the after-effects of this alarming attack? What does the apple attending like, affective forward?
It's a challenge, right? Not alone do they accept to repopulate the government, they accept to get a Senate, they accept to repopulate the House, Kirkman's activity to charge to accredit Supreme Court justices and a new cabinet. They also, artlessly on a circadian level, accept to govern. Like we saw afterwards 9/11, for all of the countless challenges it created for our leaders, they additionally artlessly had to administer circadian with the contest that appear beyond any president's desk. That's the aggregate that Tom Kirkman and the acknowledging characters will face: Not alone affective advanced afterwards arguably the worst, or one of the affliction agitator attacks on American soil, but administering the circadian challenges — civic and international, claimed and political — that any baton and administering charge accord with. It's absolutely a bifold challenge, for addition like Tom and his ancestors who are advance into this position they could accept never able for or imagined. There's the added claiming of a man, who was an everyman up until the explosion, aback acceptable the baton of the chargeless world. There are challenges he faces, and every appearance on our appearance faces on every level.
Tom is faced with a best amid acting with abandon against Iran, or aptitude on diplomacy. He goes with diplomacy, affair with the Iranian agent account afore giving his aboriginal abode to the nation. What does Tom's aboriginal absolute act as Admiral acknowledge to us about his administration style?
Tom Kirkman, and this is article Kiefer inhabits beautifully, is an everyman — but beneath pressure, you see him acceleration to the occasion. There's the old adage about how burden makes diamonds, and I anticipate he's never been activated in this way, but what he's activity to do is footfall up and handle them, abundant to his own abruptness and abundant to the abruptness of bodies about him. As the alternation goes on, he'll be able to footfall up and handle situations, but he will additionally lose in added situations. I anticipate there will be a faculty of advanced growth, but losses forth the way. That's one of the fun things about autograph this appearance and one of the abundant things Kiefer inhabits. He brings the everyman quality, but additionally the faculty of a man who can acceleration to the claiming aback necessary.
Let's about-face against the enemies ambuscade in the caliginosity here. How abundant will the appearance focus on this "whodunnit" angle? Will we be afterward that cilia throughout the year?
Oh, yeah. It's a cilia that will booty a lot of altered twists and turns, and will be inhabited and embodied by altered characters forth the way. We are principally tracking that through Maggie Q's character, Hannah, and her bang-up at the FBI, Deputy Director Jason Atwood, played by Malik Yoba. But these worlds will ultimately bisect with the White House world, as this cabal actuality tracked by the FBI closes in on the White House itself.
In agreement of Tom's actual foils, the one we see best readily in the pilot is General Cochran...
As you'll see in the series, there will be added obstacles and bodies that will alpha to appear as anon as adventure two and three. While Cochran will be a claiming for Kirkman, he will be one of abounding that Kirkman will face over the advance of the antecedent episodes.
The adventure ends aloof as Tom starts his speech. Maybe this is a bigger catechism for David, but for you, do you feel like this mirror's the show's State of the Union abode — the abruptness of acid to black, alveolate that actual arrant moment area this accomplished apple changes?
That's a abundant question. The ambition of that, and afresh I accord all backdrop to David, was to leave us with a faculty of not alive what aftereffect this accent will have. Aback we appear aback in adventure two, we will aces up and try to acknowledgment that catechism of what affectionate of appulse did that accent have. Collectively, we thought, alpha with David, that this was a actual acute way to end, with a faculty of uncertainty. How will this new admiral be accepted by the country?
Kiefer is so iconic on television already as Jack Bauer. Advancing out of this pilot, he's now embodying a actual new actuality in Tom Kirkman. What has the activity been like, crafting this appearance alongside Kiefer affective advanced from the pilot?
He inherently embodies this character. He inherently fills the rhythms of a guy who vacillates amid all-embracing challenges and actuality afflicted by them, allurement himself if this is article he can do, and appropriately actuality able to do it, amid wins and losses, amid the alarm of ancestors and the alarm of duty. It's article he so inherently embodies that, artlessly from a writer's perspective, it's fun to watch actuality embodied by Kiefer in this way.
The abutting adventure is alleged "The Aboriginal Day." What can you say about what's advancing up abutting week?
It is Admiral Kirkman's aboriginal abounding day as the Admiral of the United States. The challenges — domestic, international, able and claimed — appear aerial at him fast and furious.
Designated Survivor affectedness Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
