Netflix's 'Designated Survivor': a political series the POTUS 45 administration could take a cue from

The fictional US presidents in TV series are way more preferable than the real thing. Even the daffy version that is Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Veep or the chilling psychopath portrayed by Kevin Spacey in 'House of Cards' seem normal in comparison to POTUS 45.

Now comes Keifer Sutherland in Designated Survivor (streaming on Netflix). He plays Tom Kirkman, a former teacher who entered politics and rose up the ranks to become housing and urban development secretary, one of the lesser portfolios in the US government.

Kirkman is a decent sort, and it comes as a blow when he learns that he's shortly to be kicked out of government in an imminent cabinet reshuffle. Before he can be given his marching orders, a bomb blast at the Capitol during a state of the union address wipes out virtually the entire federal government. Kirkman, the most senior survivor, is swiftly sworn in as president.

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Kirkman is terrified of the responsibility he now has to bear. First thing he does upon being told by a secret service agent that the "Eagle" has gone, along with Congress and the cabinet and that he is now the president, is throw up.

But Kirkman grows a pair quickly, and that's chiefly where the tension arises: the notion that he is this political nonentity who's become the leader of the free world and he may not be up to the job.

The series debuted in the US in September at the height of one of the most destabilising presidential campaigns in US history - and it wouldn't be long before Americans realised they'd elected a real-life political nonentity to lead the free world, a man who thus far hasn't done much to convince commentators that he's up to the job.

And as Kirkman gets on with the job, the series gets a tad like West Wing on speed. But this is no bad thing. There's a shocked White House press corps, with secret service agents running about, as Kirkman and his family are propelled from their normal domesticity to life in the White House.

The supporting cast is good. Kal Penn is Seth Wright, a speechwriter who suddenly finds himself appointed press secretary. The real-life Sean Spicer could learn a thing or two from him, as he brings both humour and moral guidance to the proceedings.

Meanwhile, Maggie Q is an FBI agent, Hannah Wells, who takes charge of the investigation into the attack on the Capitol and begins to suspect that it may be only the first of a series of devastating attacks. She is correct.

• This article was originally published in The Times.