History Trivia / DesignatedSurvivor

* TroubledProduction: The series went through ''three'' showrunners over the course of the first season alone, and when it returns for a second season, it will [[JustForPun inaugurate]] a ''fourth'' -- not a particularly good sign of stability. Creative "churn" was indeed cited by Channing Dungey and {{Creator/ABC}} after the show's cancellation was announced in May 2018. Many reviews noted the way that the entire conspiracy story is hastily wrapped up in the first two episodes of Season 2, with the BigBad having an astoundingly petty motivation for ''destroying the entire American government'', is a clear indication of the new show runner disliking that whole aspect of the show and wanting to move on from it.

* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/KieferSutherland, perhaps best known for his portrayal of eminent badass Jack Bauer on ''Series/TwentyFour'', is a laid-back, mild-mannered, bespectacled family man / civil servant with kind of a nerd vibe coming off of him. He does have some 'Bauer-esque' moments, but only verbally, such as [[spoiler: arresting Governor Royce]].

* TroubledProduction: The series went through ''three'' showrunners over the course of the first season alone, and when it returns for a second season, it will [[JustForPun inaugurate]] a ''fourth'' -- not a particularly good sign of stability. Creative "churn" was indeed cited by Channing Dungey and {{Creator/ABC}} after the show's cancellation was announced in May 2018.

*** In "The Oath," her character runs into Charlie Langdon, and the first thing she says is "I know you." He's played by Peter Outerbridge, who memorably portrayed the head of Russian spy agency Gogol on ''Series/{{Nikita}}''.

** Kal Penn is probably the only actor on this show who has ''actually'' worked in the White House. He also has a "consultant" credit probably because of this.
** A bit of one for Kiefer Sutherland, who's been to the White House in 24, only because of an actual terrorist attack.

** Kiefer Sutherland (Canadian) and Natascha [=McElhone=] (British).

* PlayingAgainstType: Kiefer Sutherland, perhaps best known for his portrayal of eminent badass Jack Bauer on ''Series/TwentyFour'', is a laid-back, mild-mannered, bespectacled family man / civil servant with kind of a nerd vibe coming off of him. He does have some 'Bauer-esque' moments, but only verbally, such as [[spoiler: arresting Governor Royce]].

* ActorAllusion: Kal Penn is probably the only actor on this show who has ''actually'' worked in the White House. He also has a "consultant" credit probably because of this.

* ActorSharedBackground: Aaron Shore is bilingual, speaking English/Spanish like Adan Canto.

* FakeAmerican: Kevin [=McNally=] is British. And bizarrely enough, he suffers a bit of OohMeAccentsSlipping here, despite doing it flawlessly in ''Series/{{Turn}}'', where he ''should'' sound British.

* ActorAllusion: Kal Penn is probably the only actor on this show who has ''actually'' worked in the White House.

* UnderageCasting: Ashley Zukerman, who plays Vice President Peter MacLeish, was only 32 when the first season was filmed, three years below the constitutionally mandated age of 35.

* CriticalResearchFailure: Tom Kirkman is referred to several times as the first independent president of the United States, forgetting that there have already been [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington two]] [[UsefulNotes/JohnTyler independent]] presidents.