As Lockport’s students grow older and, for some, will vote in the upcoming 2016 presidential election, it might help to learn about politics outside of the drama that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have been giving us. Designated Survivor, ABC’s newest political drama, focuses on one of Washington DC’s most important political protocols, the designated survivor. They are a member of the United States Cabinet who does not attend events where the entire US government gathers, such as the State of the Union Address. In the event of a catastrophic attack on the Capitol that kills the president and everyone ranking above the designated survivor, they would become the president of the United States. The lead role of the show is held by Kiefer Sutherland, known for his award-winning portrayal of Jack Bauer in the TV series 24. In addition to Sutherland, supporting actors and actresses include Natascha McElhone, Adam Canto, LaMonica Garrett, Kal Penn, and Maggie Q.

Sutherland portrays Tom Kirkman, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, number thirteen in the Presidential Line of Succession. Only hours before president Robert Richmond’s annual State of the Union Address, Kirkman is chosen to be the designated survivor. As a result, he is far away from the Capitol when it is decimated by an explosion. Richmond and the rest of the Line of Succession, including the twelve members above Kirkman and the five members below him, are killed, along with most if not all of Congress, the Supreme Court, Joint Chiefs of Staff, guests, and journalists in attendance. As such, Kirman is taken to the White House, where he is sworn in as president. However, there are doubts from both inside and outside the White House that Kirkman can effectively lead the country through the crisis. But there’s no one else who Kirkman can pass control to, so he must take charge to keep the country from falling apart from internal and external issues, rebuild the US government, and find whoever is responsible for the horrific attack. As the FBI investigates the bombing, agent Hannah Wells, portrayed by Maggie Q, begins to suspect that the Capitol is only the beginning of a string of major terrorist attacks on the United States, something she has been unable to inform Kirkman of.

Having seen the first three episodes of the series, I think it’s pretty good, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. Rotten Tomatoes gave a 84% based off of 50 reviews, with the website’s consensus being “Kiefer Sutherland skillfully delivers the drama in Designated Survivor, a fast-paced, quickly engrossing escapist political action fantasy.” Metacritics gave a 71/100 rating based off of 35 reviews. IGN believes that Designated Survivor will fit well alongside ABC’s other political dramas like Quantico and Scandal.

Designated Survivor is now airing on ABC at 10/9 Central every Wednesday Night. If you’ve missed any of the first three episodes, you can get caught up by watching Hulu or On Demand.