‘Speechless’ and ‘Designated Survivor’ Get Full Season One Orders

Speechless TV Series Cast - ABC Premiere Dates
Mason Cook as Ray, Kyla Kenedy as Dylan, John Ross Bowie as Jimmy, Minnie Driver as Maya, Micah Fowler as JJ and Cedric Yarbrough as Kenneth in ‘Speechless’ (ABC/Kevin Foley)

There’s good news for fans of ABC’s new shows Designated Survivor and Speechless. ABC confirmed viewers can expect both series to stick around through their first seasons, with each show receiving full season orders. The network added nine more episodes to both series following their debuts to outstanding ratings. Designated Survivor is ranked first among Wednesday at 10pm fare while Speechless earned the number two spot among new comedies, losing out only to Kevin Can Wait.

Designated Survivor‘s premiere was watched by 15.3 million viewers, including the Live + 3 Day numbers. Speechless‘ 6.9 million viewers gave the half-hour comedy a spot on the Top 5 list of highest rated comedies among young adults.

Designated Survivor stars Kiefer Sutherland, Natascha McElhone, Adan Canto, Italia Ricci, LaMonica Garrett, Tanner Buchanan, Kal Penn, and Maggie Q. The one-hour drama was created by David Guggenheim and is executive produced by Guggenheim, Sutherland, Simon Kinberg, Mark Gordon, Jon Harmon Feldman, Nick Pepper, Suzan Bymel, and Aditya Sood.


Speechless comes from writer Scott Silveri (Friends), with Silveri, Jake Kasdan, and Melvin Mar executive producing. The cast includes Minnie Driver, John Ross Bowie, Mason Cook, Micah Fowler, Kyla Kenedy, and Cedric Yarbrough.

Commenting on the additional episodes order, Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment, said, “Designated Survivor and Speechless are two of the most critically acclaimed new shows of the fall season. We’re very proud of the creative excellence in front of and behind the camera, and are thrilled to be giving our audience more episodes.”

The Speechless Plot: Maya DiMeo is a mom on a mission who will do anything for her husband, Jimmy, and kids Ray, Dylan, and J.J., her eldest son with cerebral palsy. As Maya fights injustices both real and imagined, the family works to make a new home for themselves and searches for just the right person to help give J.J. his “voice.”

The Designated Survivor Plot: Kiefer Sutherland stars as Tom Kirkman, a lower-level cabinet member who is suddenly appointed President of the United States after a catastrophic attack on the US Capitol during the State of the Union. In this dramatic thriller, Kirkman will struggle to keep the country and his own family from falling apart, while navigating the highly-volatile political arena and while leading the search to find who is responsible for the attack.