
Shows that feel likeDesignated Survivor (2016–2019)
If you loved Designated Survivor, the closest series we have are The Diplomat (2023), Bodyguard (2018) and Shooter (2016). All three share Designated Survivor's contemplative and bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality.
Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Vikings: Valhalla (2022).
If Designated Survivor hit the spot, these will too

Two things both keep coming back to: politics and mourning
The difference: Trades the paranoia of Designated Survivor for an angle of its own

The same two preoccupations: conspiracy, and terrorism
The difference: Easier on the melancholy than Designated Survivor

The same preoccupation in both: conspiracy
The difference: Sits closer to action & adventure than Designated Survivor does

One thread runs through both: terrorism

Contemplative and paranoid in the same breath

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

Bleak war & politics in both cases

Common ground: mysterious

Drama with a pulse of paranoia, in both cases

Both lean on stillness more than on war & politics

Drama built on bleakness, twice over

Same instincts, 6 years apart
In the mood for more contemplative?
all contemplative shows →The best-reviewed series that share Designated Survivor’s defining feeling.









