There is a Designated Survivor spin-off on Netflix, but it may not be exactly what fans expect.
The original Designated Survivor officially came to an end after the conclusion of its third season, which aired on Netflix in 2019.
However, there is a Designated Survivor: 60 Days spin-off series on the platform, which is a foreign-language retelling. This show takes inspiration from the original show and has added some elements.
The rocky Designated Survivor history
Spin-offs have always been a popular way for fans to enjoy more of what they loved from their favorite television shows and films, even when the original source material had run out.
Considering Designated Survivor’s rollercoaster history, this would certainly be a good thing.
Although Designated Survivor has always been fairly popular in the eyes of audiences and critics, the show had been plagued with behind-the-scenes difficulties pretty much since its start at ABC in 2016.
Eventually, Netflix and Entertainment One banned together in 2019 to bring the show back for a third season, with yet another new showrunner.
But this small victory was short-lived and Designated Survivor was finally cancelled by the streaming service just a month after the third season premiered.
Everything you need to know about the Designated Survivor spin-off
This continued cycle of renewals and cancellations has left many fans of the show feeling unexpectedly cut off from Thomas “Tom” Kirkman (who is played by Kiefer Sutherland on the original show) and the rest of the Designated Survivor plot.
And while it may be welcome news to hear that there is a Designated Survivor spin-off show on Netflix that may be able to fill this void, there are some key details that you should take note of before starting this series.
The spin-off show, Designated Survivor: 60 Days, is not a spin-off in the traditional sense of the word.
In fact, Designated Survivor: 60 Days, would be better categorized as a foreign-language remake of the original show, as it simply recounts more or less the same narrative (give or take a few details) and does not provide any additional insights or backstory to the original.
Fans who enjoyed the original Designated Survivor are bound to enjoy this South Korean version.
It focuses on Park Mu-jin (played by Ji Jin-hee) – the previous Minister of Environment, who unexpectedly becomes the leader of his country after an explosion at the Korean National Assembly.
Though fans should also be aware that this 16-episode remake does boast some of its own, unique twists and turns along the way.
How Designated Survivor: 60 Days is different from the original
Designated Survivor: 60 Days does share many similarities with the original show and not only includes the Tom Kirkman-equivalent, Park Mu-jin, but also equivalents of the entire Kirkman Family (in the form of the Park Family).
This includes others such as Han Joo-seung (the Charles Langdon counterpart), Yeong-seok (the Peter MacLeish counterpart) and many more.
However, Designated Survivor: 60 Days also features a number of characters who do not have original counterparts. Moreover, unlike in the original, Park Mu-jin is only appointed in his new role as the leader for 60 Days.
What does the future hold for the original Designated Survivor?
Netflix officially announced in July 2019 that there would not be a fourth season of Designated Survivor.
Although Netflix’s statement did not give much insight as to why this popular show was being cancelled yet again, the star and executive producer of the show, Keifer Sutherland did reveal more details later.
Sutherland revealed in a 2019 interview on the Scala Radio show, that “complicated and different” contracts were at least partly to blame for the show’s abrupt re-cancellation.
Other shows like Designated Survivor and the 60 Days spin-off
If you have already watched the Designated Survivor: 60 Days spin-off, or if you simply want to find a new show which is similar to the original Designated Survivor, you may want to watch Keifer Sutherland’s new show, Rabbit Hole.
Rabbit Hole was created for Paramount+ by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, and although Sutherand was never involved as an executive producer on this show, it features some of the same high-stakes drama and investigation which fans loved in Designated Survivor and Designated Survivor: 60 Days.
Instead of being politically-focused, though, this show follows John Weir (Sutherland’s character), a consultant who has been inexplicably pulled into a large corporate espionage conspiracy.
Of course, Sutherland’s other popular show, 24, which ran from 2001 to 2010, also follows similar themes to Designated Survivor.
It featured everything from terrorist attacks and careful political maneuvering, to misinformation and more.
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