Netflix revives Designated Survivor for season 3, after ABC cancellation

Designated Survivor is coming back to survive another day. The TV thriller was cancelled by its US broadcaster ABC in May, but has been picked up for a third season on Netflix.

Although the political drama's second season met with international acclaim, earning a four-star review from The Telegraph, its US viewing figures had ebbed to a low-point of 3.29 million – a substantial drop from the 10 million who tuned in to watch the first season's premiere.

The show stars Kiefer Sutherland as a minor White House official who is unexpectedly promoted to president after a terrorist attack kills most of the US cabinet. It was previously available to UK viewers on Netflix, with episodes appearing on the streaming site a day after their US broadcast.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to play President Kirkman for season 3 of Designated Survivor with Netflix,” 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.”

The third series will reportedly tackle "fake news", political campaigning and the murky areas of campaign financing.

Neal Baer (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) take over as showrunner, with production slated to begin later this year.

“Timely and gripping, Designated Survivor has quickened the pulses of our Netflix members outside the US and Canada in its first two seasons,” Netflix’s Bela Bajaria said, in a statement given to industry news site Deadline Hollywood. “The international audience for the show drove our interest to bring the show to the world as a Netflix original for its third season."

Season three is expected to air on Netflix in 2019. It remains to be seen whether Channel 5, which bought the rights to air the show's ABC seasons in the UK, will negotiate a similar deal for the third series.