What is "designated survivor"

n. (context US English) A member of the United States Cabinet who stays at a physically distant, secure, and undisclosed location when the President and the country's other top leaders are gathered at a single location.

In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is an individual in the presidential line of succession, usually a member of the United States Cabinet, who is arranged to be at a physically distant, secure, and undisclosed location when the President and the country's other top leaders (e.g., Vice President and Cabinet members) are gathered at a single location, such as during State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. This is intended to maintain continuity of government in the event of a catastrophic occurrence that kills the President and many officials in the presidential line of succession. Were such an event to occur, killing both the President and Vice President, the surviving official highest in the line, possibly the designated survivor, would become the Acting President of the United States under the Presidential Succession Act.

Designated Survivor is an upcoming American political drama television series created by David Guggenheim, and starring Kiefer Sutherland, set to air on ABC. The series was ordered straight-to-series on December 14, 2015, with the first teaser trailer released on May 6, 2016, and the first full-length trailer on May 17, 2016. The series will premiere on September 21, 2016.