Robert De Niro Grapples With Ghosts and Gigabytes in Netflix’s High-Stakes Thriller ‘Zero Day’
If paranoia were an Olympic sport, Robert De Niro would be its reigning gold medalist. In Zero Day, Netflix’s taut new limited series premiering February 20, the two-time Oscar winner trades the gangster swagger of Goodfellas for the frayed nerves of George Mullen—a former U.S. President turned conspiracy bloodhound, tasked with untangling a cyberattack that leaves America’s infrastructure (and his own legacy) in smoldering ruins. The trailer, dripping with dread and Dan Stevens’ smarmy YouTube demagoguery, suggests a thriller less interested in firewalls than fault lines: the cracks in power, truth, and one man’s crumbling moral code.
Created by Narcos maestro Eric Newman and former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim, Zero Day positions itself as a hall of mirrors for the post-truth age. Mullen’s investigation—aided by Angela Bassett’s steely Commander-in-Chief and hindered by Jesse Plemons’ shadowy operative—unspools like a nightmare cocktail of The Parallax View and your uncle’s most unhinged Twitter thread. Leslie Linka Glatter (Homeland, The Morning Show) directs all six episodes with a sniper’s precision, framing cyber warfare not as ones-and-zeroes abstraction but as visceral chaos: blackout grids, derailed trains, and a public clinging to conspiracy theories like life rafts.
De Niro, fresh off Killers of the Flower Moon, delivers his most intriguing late-career pivot yet. Mullen is no lion-in-winter hero; he’s a man gnawed by secrets, dragging civilians into black-site interrogations while dodging viral takedowns from Stevens’ alt-media provocateur. The supporting cast—Lizzy Caplan as his estranged daughter, Joan Allen as a wife with side-eye sharper than a stiletto—hints at domestic fractures as explosive as the national crisis. Even Plemons, reuniting with De Niro after Flower Moon, smolders in a role that demands viewers ask: Is he ally, assassin, or algorithm?
Netflix’s gamble here is clear: weaponize De Niro’s gravitas against a plot ripped from tomorrow’s headlines. Whether Zero Day transcends “prestige panic porn” (à la Leave the World Behind) remains to be seen. But in an era where reality outpaces fiction daily, this series might just be the cathartic scream we need—or the cautionary tale we deserve.
FAQs:
- Who stars in Netflix’s Zero Day?
Robert De Niro leads alongside Angela Bassett, Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, and Joan Allen. - What is Zero Day about?
A former U.S. President investigates a catastrophic cyberattack while confronting his own secrets and public distrust. - When does Zero Day release?
All six episodes premiere on Netflix on February 20, 2024. - Who created Zero Day?
The series was co-created by Eric Newman (Narcos) and Noah Oppenheim, with directing by Lesli Linka Glatter. - Is Zero Day based on real events?
While fictional, it mirrors contemporary fears around cybersecurity and misinformation epidemics.
