“Zero Day,” a new Netflix drama/thriller series starring veteran actor Robert de Niro, was released on the platform this Thursday, Feb. 20, attracting widespread attention.
Like many of his previous roles, de Niro brings his classic dramatic aptitude to the stage, but the 81-year-old Academy Award winner is not just playing any character. He’s playing former President of the United States George Mullen, a highly respected and passionate politician who left office at the height of his popularity, only to return as the main protagonist in this enthralling series. He leads an investigation on a nationwide cyberattack that leads to a number of fatalities, all the while trying to battle with his “inner demons” and troubled past.
Creators Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim said in an interview with Forbes that the series was heavily inspired by the polarizing political climate that we are living in, as well as our country’s difficult relationship with speaking the truth. “Zero Day was born out of a series of conversations that Eric and I had in late 2021,” Oppenheim said.
“We’re longtime friends and we were chatting about the issues in the world that we found to be most concerning, most frightening – and top of both of our lists was the fractured relationship that America has – really, the world has – with the truth,” he said.
The show remains eerily accurate in its depiction of issues involving cybersecurity and cyber-attacks, a very real and very serious threat. According to a recent study, cyberthreats have Americans more frightened than the prospect of a nuclear attack. Yet, what stands out in this exhilarating thriller series is the fact that Zero Day doesn’t focus solely on the disastrous effects of a major attack against one of the world’s biggest superpowers, but also on the personal and emotional turmoil that its protagonist, President Mullen, faces throughout the course of the program.
This includes grappling with the death of his son due to a drug overdose, the reason he abandons his role as commander-in-chief during the height of his success. The series also hints at other publicized issues Mullen may have faced during his time in office, but for Mullen, the grief of losing his son still seems to be fresh on his mind.
Somehow, the turmoil that Mullen faces throughout the course of the “Zero Day” only adds to his steadfast character and his mission to save America and its people, enhancing his profile as the main protagonist in the series. Many heroes, fictional or nonfictional, are mostly seen on-screen as the model citizen trying to help others escape from danger and peril, but at the same time are batting a personal dilemma in the back of their minds.
Mullen, much like Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood in House of Cards and Kiefer Sutherland’s Thomas Kirkman in Designated Survivor, fiercely and vigorously represents the highest leader in the land with integrity, passion and courage.
Rating: 4.5/5