I'll be watching all the new TV pilots this year on the major networks, if you'd like to be tagged in my reviews of each of them let me know. It'll extend past the pilots if I like the show, obviously.
I want to start off by saying that to me, it didn't matter how good or bad this pilot was. Odds are, that regardless of what happened I was going to watch this because I love political thriller-type shows, and this was one of them. To me this felt like 24 took on a new name and new format with new characters. There was an obvious reason to cast Keifer Sutherland. The premise of the show is that his character Tom Kirkman is the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and also the "Designated Survivor" if all other people in line for the Presidency die. Of course exactly that happens and as a result he is left as the President.
I had high hopes for this show. It wasn't a perfect pilot, but I enjoyed it and will keep watching. This sort of genre isn't for everyone, but if you typically like this kind of thing I would recommend it. I think ABC has put a lot into this show and it will stick around for awhile. It premiered to just over 10 million which is by no means bad. I think that unless it experiences a major ratings drop, it will be around for at least 4 seasons. Kind of surprised that they have another political show on ABC, but I guess without Scandal this fills the void.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Ranking of all Pilots (thus far):
1. This Is Us
2. Speechless
3. Designated Survivor
4. Bull
5. Kevin Can Wait
