TV’s golden era may be behind us, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of interesting stuff coming down the pike on the small screen. One remnant from TV’s golden era, though, is the idea that movie stars can jump back and forth between TV and film without hurting their reputations, and what better evidence is there of that than the fact that Robert De Niro is about to star in his first-ever TV series. De Niro may not be as relevant as he was when winning two Academy Awards for The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull, but the iconic Hollywood figure is synonymous with quality storytelling.
Zero Day follows De Niro as a former president named George Mullen who comes out of retirement to “lead a commission tasked with investigating a potential world crisis,” according to Netflix. Here’s everything we know about the Zero Day Netflix series.
What is Zero Day actually about?
The plot specifics for Zero Day are still a little bit up in the air, but we do have a logline that really asks more questions than it answers:
“The question on everyone’s mind: How do we find truth in a world of crisis, one seemingly being torn apart by forces outside of our control? An apt question to ask in the information age, wherein we have never been so connected and yet our airwaves are perversely clogged up with useless noise — oft deliberately so, with the phenomena of fake news and online bots in mind. And in an era rife with conspiracy theory and subterfuge, how much of those forces are products of our own doing, perhaps even our own imagining?”
So basically, we can’t actually say for sure what Zero Day is about, but it seems pretty clear that it’s a political thriller that has conspiracy theories and disinformation on its mind. As for whatever the crisis is that pulls De Niro’s president out of retirement? That still remains unclear. Politics is obviously a fruitful area for Netflix, which launched its streaming service with House of Cards. Now, as it prepares to debut another show in a heated political moment, it’s unclear how Zero Day might be received from a public that’s already getting plenty of political content.
Who’s behind Zero Day?
It probably isn’t surprising that Zero Day is a pretty explicitly political story. It comes from writers who have more than a little experience with political writing in various formats.
Griselda and Narcos‘ Eric Newman, screenwriter Noah Oppenheim, and New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt have teamed up on the project, and it certainly seems like it has promise based on the incredible cast that they’ve assembled.
Who’s in the cast of Zero Day?
De Niro isn’t the only impressive member of this ensemble. The cast for the Zero Day series on Netflix also includes Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Joan Allen, Clark Gregg, Angela Bassett, Dan Stevens, and Gaby Hoffmann. Largely, it seems these actors are playing people in and around Washington, either in the White House or in Congress.
Caplan plays Mullen’s daughter, a young congresswoman who is “hoping to distance herself from her father’s political legacy.” Joan Allen plays Mullen’s former First Lady who is now up for a federal judgeship, and Plemons plays Roger Carlson, a former Mullen aide prior to his retirement. Stevens steps in as an obnoxious TV host who has a particular vendetta against Mullen.
Bassett is playing the current U.S. president, a “brilliant and perceptive political tactician,” and Hoffmann is playing a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who is just as sharp, and is looking to amass more power for herself.
And honestly, that’s just scratching the surface of this cast. Matthew Modine plays the Speaker of the House, Bill Camp is the head of the CIA, Connie Britton is Mullen’s former chief of staff, and the list goes on and on. That star-studded cast suggests that it’s a project that Netflix is incredibly excited about.
Is there a trailer for Zero Day?
There is a teaser trailer for Zero Day that surely will get fans hyped up for the series. We see Robert De Niro, Angela Bassett, Matthew Modine, Jesse Plemmons, and other stars try to get to the bottom of the conspiracy-filled plot of the show. The aesthetic and pace of the trailer are theatrical and tense, demonstrating Netflix’s ability to convey a movie-like sense of scale through the small screen. De Niro’s TV series debut looks like it will be on par with a film.
When is the release date for Zero Day?
Zero Day will come out on Netflix on February 20, 2025. Knowing Netflix’s typical release schedules, the entire season will likely premiere in one fell swoop.
