The series is still performing well when DVR numbers are factored into the equation, but people are not watching it the night new episodes air in a way that ABC had hoped.
This effective return for Designated Survivor should come as a stroke of good news for ABC, because the Kiefer Sutherland-fronted series has not been quite as big of a hit as the network had anticipated.
Numerous theories have circulated as to why Designated Survivor has not pulled in the anticipated numbers — one of which suggests the possibility that political fatigue and frustration with the 2016 election, the Trump administration, and the general political process have turned people off of the show.