When the President, VP, and Cabinet all meet in one location for an event such as the State of the Union, one Cabinet member is conspicuously missing: the Designated Survivor. Hidden away in an undisclosed location with Presidential-level security, the Designated Survivor is ready to take the reins of the President should the unthinkable happen and the rest of the government is wiped out in an attack.

The series follows twenty-something April (Ricci), a smart and quick witted aspiring journalist who is trying to work her way up the ladder at a Boston newspaper by trying to impress her hard-nosed editor. When not pursuing the latest scoop, April tries to balance her ambitious career with her family - her widowed mom Sara (Keller), rebellious little sister Brenna (Ramm) and her grandmother. Just as things start to look up at work, home and on the romance front with co-worker Dominic (Brancatisano), April gets the devastating news from an estranged uncle that she has cancer.

This show follows Henry Griffin, a teenager with skills acquired through years of traveling the world with his anthropologist parents. He must now use those skills to move back to America and attend a public high school.