ABC has canceled two of its high profile dramas. Both Designated Survivor and Quantico won’t be returning for new seasons.
Designated Survivor began its run as one of ABC’s most promising, snagging the Critics’ Choice award for most exciting new series in its first season. It has seen ratings declines in Season 2, but continued to be helped by strong DVR lifts. The series underwent a behind-the-scene turnover with a slew of showrunner changes over its two-season run. It would appear that even with the gains in DVR viewing that the live ratings decline was tough to ignore. the series had slumped as low as a 0.5 in the key 18-49 demo.
In Designated Survivor, which marked Kiefer Sutherland’s return to TV after 24 (and the brief FOX series Touch), the actor starred as Tom Kirkman, a lower-level cabinet member who is suddenly appointed President of the United States after a catastrophic attack on the US Capitol during the State of the Union. Kirkman now finds himself thrust into a role he never wanted. He must struggle to keep the country and his own family from falling apart, while navigating the highly-volatile political arena and while leading the search to find who is responsible for the attack. The series also starred Natasha McElhone, Adan Canto, Italia Ricci, LaMonica Garrett, Tanner Buchanan, Kal Penn & Maggie Q.
Quantico, from ABC Studios and producer Mark Gordon, was a breakout when it debuted in fall 2015, setting delayed viewing lift records. But with its dense narrative and heavy serialization, the series started to lose momentum in the second half of its first season and continued to see declines into Season 3. It came down-to-the-wire last season for the drama series when it scored a last-minute abbreviated Season 3 renewal with a reduced license fee and new creative under a new showrunner. The series also had international appeal but it appears that ABC wanted to cut its losses due to dwindling ratings.
The series starred Priyanka Chopra, Jake McLaughlin, Johanna Braddy, Russell Tovey, Alan Powell, Marlee Matlin, and Blair Underwood.
