gimme the antihero

I've been watching Designated Survivor lately. It's the show starring Kiefer Sutherland as a relcutant successor to the Presidency after the rest of government is destroyed in a terrorist attack. I'm about a quarter of the way into the second season, and I find my heart just isn't into it. I can't fault the acting or the direction. And the premise for the show is very creative. A lot of the plot lines are well done. But I find myself uninterested in Tom Kirkman, the protagonist.

Why?

In recent years I've streamed several action/drama TV shows. It started with Breaking Bad, for which I owe my cousin a debt of gratitude. I liked that enough that I went on to Boardwalk Empire, House of Cards, The Americans and Better Call Saul. And I liked or loved all of them*

So, what is it that these other shows had in common that DesSurv doesn't? An antihero.

In none of the other shows can the protagonist really be called a good guy. The closest is Better Call Saul, in which Jimmy/Saul has a heart of gold, and really does try (for the most part) to do the right thing. But in all these shows the protagonist is conflicted. Despite having good qualities, they are all fundamentally bad people. And yet, the shows are written to make them sympathetic.

I could root for a Frank Underwood or a Nucky Thompson, knowing what terrible people they were. And I cried as I watched Walter White spend his last moments admiring chemistry equipment. It was all incongruous, but it was fun. And, more importantly, these antiheroes are interesting.

By contrast, Kirkman in Designated Survivor is a choirboy -- honest, selfless and true. As good as the show around him may be, he himself is simply boring.

Give me the antiheroes.

*with the exception of House of Cards season 6, which I wrote about here.
**Except for Frank Underwood from House of Cards, who does not appear to have any redeeming qualities.