Kiefer Sutherland to play U.S. president in Toronto

Pop Goes The News — Actor Kiefer Sutherland is coming home to play the U.S. president.

The 49-year-old, who grew up in Toronto, will shoot his new ABC drama series Designated Survivor in the city.

Cameras are scheduled to roll until the end of November.

In Designated Survivor, Sutherland will play a cabinet member who is sworn in as president of the U.S. after an attack during the State of the Union address kills the president and everyone in the line of succession.

The pilot was written by David Guggenheim (Safe House), who will also be an executive producer along with Simon Kinberg (The Martian) and Sutherland.

Also in the cast are Natasha McElhone (Californication), Italia Ricci (Chasing Life), Kal Penn (House) and Maggie Q (Nikita).

Ricci, a native of the Toronto area, is engaged to Toronto actor Robbie Amell (The Flash). Penn made the 2004 movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle in Toronto, and Maggie Q made four seasons of The CW series Nikita in the city.

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Designated Survivor is the second conspiracy drama on the ABC schedule to be made in Canada — the first season of Quantico was filmed in Montreal.

Sutherland made 2014’s Pompeii and 2006’s The Sentinel in Toronto.

Working on Designated Survivor in the city will allow him to be close to his 81-year-old mother, actress Shirley Douglas.


This story has been updated since it was first posted.