Much of the fun of "Designated Survivor," at least in the first season or so, was in exploring the tension between the humdrum life of an academic and low-level cabinet member and the high-stakes life of the president of the United States (after said academic is thrust into the big job).

So, it might be fitting that, after a dramatic rescue, this very high-profile show ended for some pretty humdrum reasons.

It was first cancelled by ABC after two seasons, but Netflix swept in at the last minute and bought the rights to produce a third season, only to cancel it again shortly after that.

Star Kiefer Sutherland told Radio Times magazine that this final cancellation wasn't about anything fun like creative clashes or even sudden ratings drops. It was about contracts.

"We had an amazing experience with Netflix, and a kind of freedom that was wonderful," Sutherland explained, "but the reality is, because the contracts were so complicated and different from network television to Netflix, etc., they didn't book a lot of the actors that were on the show, and they took other jobs, and I don't blame them for a second for that."

All that said, we can try to force another heroic story arc onto this: the cancellation had to happen to let Sutherland return to a life of espionage.

Having previously starred on the smash hit "24," Sutherland recently signed on to play another spy in a series for the fledgling streaming service Paramount . The so-far-untitled series will debut sometime in 2022.

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