This 3-Season Thriller on Netflix With a Bosch Universe Star Has Clocked 65M+ Hours Viewed

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Maggie Q's Hannah looking seriously ahead in Designated Survivor

Published Jan 26, 2026, 8:20 PM EST

Jen Vestuto is a TV Features Writer for Collider. A born and raised New Yorker, she started her career on set as a production assistant for shows like Law & Order: SVU and Person of Interest. In LA, she worked in the writers' rooms for The Vampire Diaries and Nancy Drew. Along with her writing partner, she joined the writing staff of Nancy Drew in Season 2 and stayed on the run of the show, which ended in 2022 with Season 4.

Jen grew up on Long Island in a loud Italian family. She's been writing creatively since she was in elementary school and would often make her younger sister act out scenes from her favorite movies with her. Jen is also a massive sports fan and was an athlete herself growing up.

Writing features for Collider gives her the opportunity to share her passion for great storytelling and compelling characters.

Political thrillers have become one of television’s most dependable genres in recent years, with high-budget streaming series like The Diplomat and The Night Agent leading the charge. But long before those shows turned government conspiracies into prestige viewing, Designated Survivor was already operating in that space. Airing on ABC in 2016, with traditional 20-plus-episode seasons, the series blended political drama, conspiracies, and procedural tension in a way that now feels perfectly suited for binge-watching on streaming.

Anchored by Kiefer Sutherland following his iconic run as Jack Bauer on 24 and supported by a strong ensemble that includes Maggie Q, Designated Survivor found a second life on Netflix, where it aired its third and final season in 2019. With all three seasons still available to stream, the series racked up more than 65 million hours viewed in the back half of 2025 alone. Q’s sharp, commanding performance, which fans now recognize from Prime Video’s Ballard, helps explain why the show continues to resonate with audiences years after its network run ended.

'Designated Survivor' Drew Viewers in With an Explosive Twist

Designated Survivor started with a literal bang. During the State of the Union address, an explosion destroys the U.S. Capitol, killing the President, Vice President, and much of Congress. The only surviving cabinet member is Tom Kirkman (Sutherland), the low-profile Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who had been named the “designated survivor” and kept offsite, instantly thrusting him into the presidency. That setup gives the series a distinct tone and immediately sets it apart from political dramas like The West Wing and Scandal. Kirkman isn’t a politician who craves power or was ever prepared to be President, yet he's thrown into the aftermath of an unprecedented catastrophe, balancing day-to-day politics with an unfolding conspiracy about who carried out the attack.

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"You are the worst thing that has happened to this country since food in buckets and maybe slavery!"

He’s surrounded by a team still reeling from the loss of government leadership, including Chief of Staff Aaron Shore (Adan Canto), strategist Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci), and speechwriter Seth Wright (Kal Penn). The show’s other major engine is its conspiracy storyline. While Kirkman works to stabilize the government, FBI agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q) begins investigating the attack and quickly realizes it wasn’t random. Wells is relentless and deeply driven, and Maggie Q makes her a compelling parallel lead rather than a secondary subplot.

Maggie Q Thrives as FBI Agent Hannah Wells in 'Designated Survivor'

Maggie Q as Hannah Wells in Designated Survivor

Of course, Kiefer Sutherland is the headline, but Maggie Q’s performance as Hannah Wells is one of Designated Survivor’s most underrated strengths. While the series is often discussed for its high-concept premise or Sutherland’s return to television, Wells is the character who gives the show its urgency. From the start, Hannah refuses to believe the attack on the Capitol is as straightforward as it appears. Once her instincts kick in, her suspicions prove justified, and the series leans on her relentless drive to push the story forward.

Hannah operates with a quiet confidence that comes from experience. She’s intelligent, calculated and respected in her position, even as she’s forced to walk a difficult line between doing her job and navigating personal loss. While working to unravel the mystery behind the explosion, she’s also grieving the man she was in a relationship with, who worked in Congress and was inside the Capitol at the time. That emotional undercurrent gives her investigation real weight, turning her pursuit of the truth into something both professional and deeply personal.

By this point in her career, Maggie Q had already proven her action credentials in Nikita, and she brings that same toughness to Hannah, who later transitions from FBI agent to CIA case officer in Season 3. Hannah became a fan favorite, even as her later storyline sparked debate among viewers. Designated Survivor was Q’s final drama before stepping into Michael Connelly’s universe, first in Bosch: Legacy and then as the lead of Ballard, which was renewed for Season 2.

Between the strong performances, David Guggenheim and his team’s writing, and the show’s steady stream of twists and turns, it’s not surprising that all three seasons have found a massive audience on Netflix. The series is highly bingeable, blending political thriller tension with grounded drama in a way that clearly resonates with streaming viewers. If you’re looking for a smart, addictive drama that hits all of those notes, Designated Survivor deserves a spot at the top of your watchlist.

All three seasons of Designated Survivor are available to stream on Netflix.