Designated Survivor season 3 – Copyright Netflix
Designated Survivor season 3 is coming to Netflix in June 2019 and we’ve got all you need to know about the revival season of Designated Survivor including its release date and time, casting announcements, episode count and everything else you need to know.
The first two seasons of Designated Survivor originally aired on ABC and ran for two seasons before its cancelation. This sent fans of the show into meltdown as fans demanded that someone come along and save the show. Designated Survivor already had a fanbase on Netflix as the series was classed as an Original outside of the US. In the end, reviving the show was an easy decision for Netflix.
It came after a string of Netflix revivals including reviving Lucifer from Fox released on Netflix in May.
Now let’s move onto everything we know about Netflix’s first season of Designated Survivor:
Reaction to Netflix reviving season 3 of Designated Survivor
Keifer Sutherland will reprise his role as President Tom Kirkman, and the majority of the cast will reprise their roles in the show. Sutherland had the following to say:
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to play President Kirkman for season three of Designated Survivor with Netflix, eOne and Neal Baer,” Sutherland said. “I believe this format will allow us to continue to delve deeply into storylines and issues concerning the American electorate that were not previously possible.”
Designated Survivor goes to @netflix pic.twitter.com/P9In3R7Cyh
— Kiefer Sutherland (@RealKiefer) September 7, 2018
I AM SO EXCITED THAT WE CAN FINALLY TALK ABOUT THIS! Season 3 baby! Thank you to all the fans. We love you guys. https://t.co/cnu7rxOLuL
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) September 5, 2018
Who’s returning in the cast of Designated Survivor season 3?
Most of the cast from the first two seasons will be returning for the third season of Designated Survivor:
| Role | Actor/Actress | Where have I seen/heard them before? |
|---|---|---|
| President Tom Kirkman | Kiefer Sutherland | 24, Mirrors, Phone Booth |
| Aaron Shore | Adan Canto | X-Men: Days of Future of Past, Narcos, The Following |
| Emily Rhodes | Italia Ricci | Chasing Life, Supergirl, Don Jon |
| Seth Wright | Kal Penn | Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Van Wilder: Party Liason, House |
| Hannah Wells | Maggie Q | Divergent, Die Hard 4.0, Insurgent |
| Mike Ritter | LaMonica Garrett | Sons of Anarchy, Clemency, The Last Ship |
| Kendra Daynes | Zoe McLellan | Dungeons & Dragons, Deadly Honeymoon, Mr. Holland’s Opus |
| Lyor Boone | Paulo Costanzo | 40 Days and 40 Nights, Road Trip, Splinter |
| Penny Kirkman | McKenna Grace | The Haunting of Hill House, I Tonya, Gifted |
Michael J Fox may return to reprise his role as Ethan West. The actor joined the cast in the latter half of season 2 but confirmation on his return is yet to be announced.
New Cast Members for Season 3 of Designated Survivor
There’s plenty of new cast members going to be featuring in season 3.
Michael Ausiello from TV line first reported some new casting information. He had this to say:
With production on the Netflix-saved season 3 set to start up in mid-October, casting is underway for some new roles: a campaign manager who appreciates the pitfalls as well as the historical value in stumping for an Independent incumbent, and the new Chief of Staff she will butt heads with; a gay, black male who runs the West Wing’s digital team; and a quirky geneticist who factors into Hannah’s new mystery to solve.
Kal Penn & Italia Ricci returning for season 3 of Designated Survivor
The Chief of Staff role has been confirmed to be Anthony Edwards (ER, Top Gun). Meanwhile Julie White (Transformers, Monsters vs. Aliens) will portray Kirkman’s new campaign manager Lorraine Zimmer.
The Chief of Staff’s wife is being played by Lauren Holly who’s appeared in Dumb & Dumber, Picket Fences back in the 1990s and What Women Want.
Jamie Clayton who played Nomi Marks on Sense8 is scheduled to appear in season 3 playing the role of Sasha Booker.
Benjamin Charles Watson who’s appeared in The Killing and Warehouse 13 is set to play the role of Dante.
Chukwudi Iwuji is going to be appearing in season 3 as Dr. Eli Mays.
What going to happen in Designated Survivor season 3?
Previous seasons of Designated Survivor have seen President Kirkman battling off threats from abroad and on home soil. From terrorists to political threats, the man who would be President has persevered and shown he is the correct politician to lead his country.
Having now dealt with who caused the attacks on the capital, Tom spent most of season 2 rebuilding the country and moving it forward.
Fast forward to season 3, we’ll now see Tom Kirkland trying to persuade the American public that he’s the right man to continue running the country.
Designated Survivor season 3 on the campaign trail
Expect a brutal campaign that’ll probably feature parallels to the real-world political system we currently have.
Where is the production of Designated Survivor Season 3 up to?
With just weeks left until its June 7th release date, Netflix is now in full promotion mode for the series.
The series was in filming right up until February 2019 with it quickly entering into post-production.
How many episodes are in Designated Survivor season 3?
Netflix is known for not overproducing episodes for their titles and this trend is set to continue with Designated Survivor.
Unlike the first two seasons, which had over 20 episodes each (season one had 21, while season two had 22) the third season of Designated Survivor will only have 10 episodes in total.
Kiefer Sutherland & Kal Penn in Designated Survivor season 3
Fans need not be dismayed by this news in the drop episodes. While the quantity may have dropped, there’s not a chance the quality will have dropped as well.
All 10 episodes will arrive on the release date, so this time fans won’t have to wait for each new episode week to week.
Is there a trailer for Designated Survivor Season 3?
On May 3rd, Netflix dropped the first full trailer for season 3 of Designated Survivor. The trailer gave us a glimpse of what to expect including Tom Kirkland now heading into a fight for his career heading into the election.
Many commented the series has a distinctly different look to its ABC counterpart. This is likely because of the polish that was able to be put into the show not spread out across 20-something episodes.
When is the release date for Designated Survivor Season 3?
The release date for Designated Survivor has been confirmed! The third season will arrive on Friday, June 7th, 2019.
Kiefer Sutherland’s recap of the series confirmed the release date.
As with all Netflix Originals. The series will drop at 12:01 AM PST. That translates to 3:00 AM EST. In Europe that means it’ll be available in the morning at roughly 8:00 AM GMT and for those in Eastern regions, you’ll have to wait until Friday afternoon.
Is Designated Survivor releasing everywhere on Netflix?
Season 3 is releasing on Netflix globally. The first two seasons obviously released on ABC in America and was broadcasted without Netflix in Canada too. That won’t be the case with season 3 as the show is now a full Netflix Original. That means all episodes at once simultaneously around the world.
What is Designated Survivor: 60 Days?
You may have heard that Netflix is also going to be carrying a new South Korean series based on the same story. It’s planned to release on Netflix sometime in July 2019.
The main cast announcement so far is Jin-hee Ji.
Are you excited for the release of Season 3 of Designated Survivor? Let us know in the comments below!
Netflix Synopsis: "America's fate rests in the hands of a low-level official after an attack on Washington decimates the government in this gripping political thriller."
