Kiefer Sutherland vehicle ‘Designated Survivor’ picked up to series at ABC

Kiefer Sutherland is returning to television screens just when fictional America needs him most.

ABC announced Friday that it picked up the conspiracy thriller “Designated Survivor” to series, along with releasing a teaser trailer for the show.

Sutherland plays Tom Kirkman, a lower cabinet member thrust into the presidency after an attack on America renders him next in the line of succession. The challenges Kirkman will face are considerable, as he attempts to keep the country and his own family from falling apart.

The role couldn’t sound more different from the last time audiences saw Sutherland on the small screen, on Fox’s “24.” Sutherland won an Emmy playing Jack Bauer, a pivotal member of the Counter Terrorist Unit working to prevent an attack on America. The challenges he faced were considerable, as he attempted to keep the country and his own family from falling apart.

OK ... but on “Designated Survivor” he wears glasses, so that’s different.

Joking aside, Sutherland as president may be change the country can believe in, though at this juncture, the most intriguing aspects of the show may be the ones that remain unclear. What was the attack on America? Was it locusts? Was it terrorists? Was it terrorists utilizing locusts?

Or perhaps the most pressing question is what cabinet position Sutherland’s character held. Secretary of Agriculture? Housing and Urban Development? Education? I hope it’s Education and his first act as President is fighting terrorism through higher teacher pay.

(Upon further research it appears that Sutherland’s character really is Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. You learn something every day.)

Joining Sutherland in the cast are Natascha McElhone (“Californication”), Kal Penn (“House”) and Maggie Q (“Nikita). The series is created by David Guggenheim (“Safe House”) and the first episode directed by Paul McGuigan (“Sherlock”).

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