In the United States, a designated survivor is a named individual in the presidential line of succession, chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from events such as State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. The practice of designating a successor is intended to prevent a hypothetical decapitation of the government and to safeguard continuity in the office of the president in the event the president along with the vice president and multiple other officials in the presidential line of succession die in a mass-casualty incident. The procedure originated in the 1950s during the Cold War with its risk of nuclear attack. If such an event occurred, the surviving official highest in the line of succession as delineated in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 would become President of the United States. Consequently, the individual named as a designated survivor must be eligible to serve as president.
About Designated Survivor
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Thomas Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) is immediately sworn in as President after an explosion claims the lives of the President and everyone in the line of succession on the night of the State of the Union.
Achievement of Designated Survivor
The series skipped the pilot stage and ordered straight to series. The won a 2016 TV Guide Award for Most Exciting TV Series and 2016 Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About Designated Survivor
United States presidential succession.. Continuity of government in the United States.. Disaster preparedness in the United States.
Latest information about Designated Survivor updated on July 28 2021.
