The White House political drama series Designated Survivor with Kiefer Sutherland has been renewed for a third season on Netflix.
The series that was shown on ABC in America, but was seen outside of the US and Canada on Netflix, was cancelled in May, but has now been fully taken over by the global streaming service who renewed it for another season.
In October Netflix South Africa told TVwithThinus that Designated Survivor ranks as one of the top 5 most watched series on the service in South Africa.
Netflix has now decided to take over the drama series with a 10-episode third season order that will become available in 2019 and with production set to start later this year in Toronto where the show is being filmed. Neal Baer is taking over as the new showrunner - the 5th for the show.
As a Netflix original production and now with Entertainment One as the sole producer, ABC Studios is no longer involved and the episode season order has been cut in half.
Designated Survivor's core cast will all return including Kal Penn, Adan Canto and Italia Ricci, with Maggie Q in negotiations to join the show.
"Timely and gripping, Designated Survivor has quickened the pulses of our Netflix members outside the US and Canada in its first two seasons," says Bela Bajaria, Netflix vice president for content. "The international audience for the show drove our interest to bring the show to the world as a Netflix original for its third season and we are excited to bring the first 2 seasons to our US and Canadian members as well".
"The continuation of the show via Netflix is a win-win for all involved," says eOne president and executive producer Mark Gordon. "The story of president Kirkman and those around him has not been fully told and we look forward to working with our new partner in continuing the show for a global audience."
"When season 3 picks up, Kirkman will face a political reality - campaigning. What does it take to make a leader? What price will he be willing to pay? Democracy, as we know it, will hang in the balance," says Netflix announcing the 3rd season pick-up. "This new season will explore today’s world of campaigning, smear tactics, debates, campaign finance and 'fake news'."
Kiefer Sutherland in the statement says "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to play president Kirkman for season 3 of Designated Survivor with Netflix, eOne and Neal Baer. I believe this format will allow us to continue to delve deeply into storylines and issues concerning the American electorate that were not previously possible."
