B-
Designated Survivor ends its first season with unearned optimism
One the challenges when writing villains in an adventure story is making them a threat credible enough to be a…
Designated Survivor - Season 1
C+
Designated Survivor is two good tastes that taste dull together
I was all set to question the logic of Kirkman’s latest move—pushing a nuclear disarmament proposal through NATO—but…
C+
It’s Hannah in the box on a bland Designated Survivor
Hannah’s been captured by the conspiracy! Hookstraten is on the ropes! There are only three episodes left in the…
C+
Designated Survivor tries for thrills, doesn’t quite get there
I’m not sure what we’re supposed to make of Abe Leonard. Rob Morrow plays him like a man who probably isn’t drunk right…
C+
Designated Survivor wanders through the woods in more ways than one
Designated Survivor has a Peter MacLeish problem.
B
An average Designated Survivor has Kirkman scrounging for votes
More leaning into the politics, and more struggles by the Kirkman administration to push a political platform that’s…
B+
Designated Survivor gets political in a simple but effective entry
Designated Survivor has spent the weeks since the assassination attempt that marked the midpoint of the season focusing…
B+
Kirkman makes one friend, loses another on Designated Survivor
“Commander-In-Chief” finds our hero getting a few more pieces of intel on the conspiracy that put him in the White…
B
Designated Survivor battens down the hatches
It’s understandable that, after an hour like “The End of the Beginning,” Designated Survivor might need a moment to…
A-
Designated Survivor finds its balance in a grim, exciting episode
“The End Of The Beginning” finds Kirkman still stuck in a hospital bed. That’s not a huge surprise, and, at least on a…
B
Designated Survivor returns with its usual chaste thrills
There’s a fundamental corniness to Designated Survivor that I find fascinating. It’s not really a good thing; at its…
B+
Shots fired as Designated Survivor ends on an effective cliffhanger
It’s an easy trick—introducing a tech nerd into a high stakes game of espionage and shooting people, and have him (or…
B+
Designated Survivor plays it down the middle while upping the stakes
I’ve misjudged Congresswoman Hookstraten, and rather embarrassingly at that. Given her combative behavior with Kirkman…
B+
Designated Survivor finds modest inspiration in a threatened election
The most obvious way to describe Designated Survivor—a mash-up of The West Wing’s idealism and fascination with the…
B
Designated Survivor finds traitors in strange places in a solid episode
Whenever a show doubles down on a seemingly uninteresting storyline, I always try to give them the benefit of the…
C+
Kirkman compromises on a clumsy Designated Survivor
Of course Tom Kirkman is a registered Independent. Of course he is. It’s a classic TV move: try and make the fantasy…
B+
One villain gets caught while another slips in the back door on Designated Survivor
Tom Kirkman cares about his job. He cares about America, and, so far at least, there’s no indication that his passion…
B+
Designated Survivor finds “The Enemy” and he is us
Late in “The Enemy,” while newly minted press secretary Seth is giving an inspiring speech about rising to the…
C
Good intentions leave Designated Survivor in limbo
There’s a triangle used by developers, project managers, artists, and others. Its purpose is to remind a creator (or…
B
It’s two steps forward, one step back on Designated Survivor
So, now’s as good a time as any to acknowledge: this is a hokey show. I’m going to try and avoid 24 comparisons as much…