The following contains spoilers from the Designated Survivor midseason finale.
ABC’s Designated Survivor closed the first half of its sophomore season by dealing President Tom Kirkman his most devastating, soul-crushing blow to date, in a tragic twist that has been on the books since last spring.
As this week’s episode neared its end, First Lady Alex (played by Natascha McElhone) brilliantly torpedoed Forstell’s investigation into the bribery allegations made against her, by making an opening statement — on the public record — in which she disclosed that the FBI Director’s fishing expedition coincided with his ramp-up for a senate run. Found out, Forstell promptly shut down the proceedings, giving Alex a big win…
…to be followed by a big loss, when on her way home from the FBI headquarters her Secret Service transport was T-boned by a truck, Michael Vaughn-style. Cut to President Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland), who was at a hospital checking in on a newborn’s risky surgery, receiving a call about the accident. POTUS dropped his phone and crumbled to his knees, wailing as Secret Service agents rushed to his side.
TVLine spoke with Designated Survivor showrunner Keith Eisner about the when and why of this storyline decision.
TVLINE | It was May 14 when Kiefer was at the ABC Upfronts already teasing this “midseason event.” Was it as far back as then that you knew Natascha McElhone was leaving?
Yeah, we had been thinking about this moment for a very long time. It was a long time in the making and it leads us into sort of uncharted territory for a television show — which is a president [of the United States] who’s a widower and is basically home alone, raising two kids on his own. The most powerful person on Earth is now by himself [as a parent]. We find that very exciting as writers, to plot that surprising and unusual course.
