It looks like President Kiefer Sutherland wasn’t ready to resign just yet. Netflix has saved Designated Survivor for season 3 after ABC canceled the series back in May.
Neal Baer (Under the Dome, ER) will replace Keith Eisner (The Good Wife) as the Entertainment One drama’s fifth overall showrunner. The third season will consist of 10 episodes, less than half the order for its first two runs on the Disney-owned broadcast network. The series will be produced as a Netflix original, meaning ABC Studios is no longer involved as a producer alongside eOne.
Season three will debut in 2019, with Netflix also landing the U.S. and Canadian streaming rights to seasons one and two of the drama as part of the deal. (Hulu had stacking rights in the U.S. to the first two seasons as part of its deal with ABC.) The first two seasons will be available to Netflix subscribers in the U.S. and Canada in the fall as season three is being touted as a global original series.
Netflix was the international streaming home for Designated Survivor, with the sizable SVOD funds helping to keep the low-rated drama profitable from the start. The dealmaking to bring the series to Netflix started almost immediately after ABC’s May cancellation, with the official deal closing after sorting out streaming rights with Hulu. While not a ratings or critical breakout, Designated Survivor was a profitable show for ABC thanks in part to a lucrative Netflix SVOD deal and strong international sales. The cancellation was among this past upfront season’s biggest surprises.
Season three will see Sutherland’s President Kirkman explores today’s world of campaigning, smear tactics, debate, campaign finance and “fake news.”
