ABC did everything it could to promote its new political thriller, “Designated Survivor,” and it looks like their marketing has paid off. The network showed a big vote of confidence of the Kiefer Sutherland-fronted drama by picking up Season 1 for a full season.

ABC’s “Designated Survivor” will now have 22 episodes in Season 1, Zap2It reports. Bear in mind that the series has only aired two episodes of its freshman season so far.

However, it isn’t that surprising that President Kirkman is getting a vote from the alphabet network. “Designated Survivor” debuted to a strong 2.0 demo rating in the 18-49 category. In week 2, the drama series raked up a solid 8 million eyeballs or a 1.8 rating. These are good numbers for a new series. Although episode 2 saw the number dip 18 percent from its series premiere, according to a report by TVLine, this is generally expected in the TV industry.

According to another Zap2It report, “Designated Survivor” dominated the 10 p.m. timeslot on Wednesday, with NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” coming a close second. ABC usually didn’t enjoy such good numbers on Wednesday nights.

Another freshman drama, “Speechless” was also picked up for a full season alongside Sutherland’s show. “’Designated Survivor’ and ‘Speechless’ are two of the most critically acclaimed new shows of the fall season,” ABC Entertainment head Channing Dungey said in a statement. “We’re very proud of the creative excellence in front of and behind the camera and are thrilled to be giving our audiences more episodes.”

The ABC series has also got more or less positive reviews, with IMDb giving it 8.2 on 10.

Apart from Sutherland, the main draw of “Designated Survivor” lies in introducing the concept of a designated survivor – a cabinet member that is whisked away to a secret location during Presidential inaugurations and the State of Union addresses.

“Designated Survivor” Season 1 airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC.

Does President Kirman get your vote? Hit the comments and let us know!

RELATED STORIES