TV Review: ‘Zero Day’

in Movie

Reading Time: 8 mins read

‘Zero Day’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.

Premiering on Netflix on February 20th, ‘Zero Day’ ponders how America might react to a catastrophic cyber-attack on its services, transport and technology, with the lingering threat of another.

Big questions are asked, as they always are, about how personal freedom could be compromised in the search for safety, and how much the country’s elected leaders must answer to the general public for their actions in times of crisis and beyond.

Will ‘Zero Day’ keep you enthralled?

Robert De Niro as George Mullen in 'Zero Day'. Photo: Courtesy of Jojo Whilden/Netflix © 2024.

Beyond a TV movie about Bernie Madoff and a quirky, little-seen Italian comedy series from a couple of years ago, Robert De Niro’s primary contributions to TV have been as an executive producer on a handful of shows.

But we live in an age when actors of any stature are lured by prestige small screen productions (and we’re sure the healthy paycheck from Netflix’s deep pockets didn’t hurt). Here, the man who made his name playing angry young men and his since transitioned to acting as compromised authority figures or senior mob figures, takes on a timely and careworn role as a former politician forced into an impossible situation.

Script and Direction

(L to R) Angela Bassett as President Mitchell, Executive Producer Noah Oppenheim, Executive Producer Eric Newman and Director Lesli Linka Glatter behind the scenes of ‘Zero Day’. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Netflix © 2024.

Boasting Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim and Michael S. Schmidt as its co-creators and executive producers, you knew the shows wasn’t completely going to be a first-base exploration of the issues surrounding presidential (or in this case former presidential) power and the sacrifices in morals and ethics that are made in the name of patriotism and safety.

With the space to breathe that a limited series provides in place of a movie, there is the chance to explore more about the central figure especially, and De Niro’s Mullen is a complicated man, a decorated veteran and (mostly) beloved former President who resigned after the death of his son –– but if you thought that was all there was to it, you’ve clearly never seen a movie or show such as this before.

And yet if we’re honest, this show is more about the driving plot that truly deep characterizations. We learn some about other players on the show (including Mullen’s wife and bitter politico daughter), but for the most part it’s getting us to the next revelation. Which is also a key element of these sorts of stories.

(L to R) Robert De Niro, Executive Producer Eric Newman, Director Lesli Linka Glatter and Executive Producer Noah Oppenheim behind the scenes of 'Zero Day'. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Netflix © 2024.

It’s smartly told, though at least one “surprise” was something you’ll see coming from several miles away, not least because of the casting. And the actual plot line, about a one-minute-long attack on vital services that has echoes of 9/11, is perfunctory, but works well enough.

‘Homeland’ veteran Lesli Linka Glatter, meanwhile, is show’s only director and also executive producer and brings a sense of steel and weight to the proceedings.

Netflix certainly gave the team the budget to make this one look slick, though if you’re after pulse-pounding action, that’ s again not really what the show is about. There are a few set pieces, but the driving force here is people in offices talking about the next step or accusing each other of cover-ups/betrayals.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Robert De Niro as George Mullen and Connie Britton as Valerie Whitesell in 'Zero Day'. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Netflix © 2024.

If you’ve got Robert De Niro agreeing to star in your limited series, of course you’re going to give him something meaty to chew on. President Mullen here is a layered character, a man who tried to do the right thing in office, but here finds himself much more compromised given the shifting political tones of the day.

And he’s also someone who is starting to suffer the maladies of his age –– while he’s concerned about someone using a secretive weapon against him that is disrupting his mind, the series is smart enough to keep us guessing as to whether it’s just someone whose faculties are going.

Around De Niro we have Joan Allen as his wife, Sheila, who mostly has the steadfast role to play in his life, but does have some shades of her own, including the fact that she’s running for a supreme court role. Then there’s Alexandra Mullen (Lizzy Caplan), who has a troubled relationship with her father, especially since he tried to stop her going into politics herself (she’s a congressional representative these days). Caplan is good in the role, though her character is written in somewhat predictable fashion.

Lizzy Caplan as Alexandra Mullen in 'Zero Day'. Photo: Courtesy of Jojo Whilden/Netflix © 2024.

Then we have the fixer characters, particularly Connie Britton as Valerie Whitesell (who once served in the White House) and Roger Carlson (Jesse Plemons), who is close to Mullen but also has dodgy business connections. They’re both excellent in their roles, calculated and charming in equal measure.

Angela Bassett, meanwhile, is President Evelyn Mitchell, the current head of state, but though she has a couple of decent scenes (which Bassett naturally knocks out of the park), it’s not much of a role.

Finally, there is ambitious Speaker of the House Richard Dreyer, played by Matthew Modine. No fan of Mullen’s, he’s pushing for further action to be taken and has his own agenda.

Final Thoughts

Angela Bassett as President Mitchell in 'Zero Day'. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Netflix © 2024.

Released at a time when the federal government is not, shall we say operating at peak efficiency (despite what the people in charge might say), ‘Zero Day’ feels like an eerily prescient peek into what could happen (though we don’t see Joe Biden stepping up to run an investigative commission if it did) and a decently diverting thriller series that has its share of genre tropes but doesn’t lean too heavily into them.

As Robert De Niro’s first big American TV series (well, miniseries), it’s not always worthy of his presence, but it works when it needs to.

“Truth has been weaponized.”

TV-MA1 SeasonsFebruary 20th, 2025

A former U.S. President is called out of retirement to find the source of a deadly cyberattack, only to discover a vast web of lies and conspiracies. Read the Plot

What’s the plot of ‘Zero Day’?

Robert De Niro stars as respected former U.S. President George Mullen, who, as head of the Zero Day Commission, is charged with finding the perpetrators of a devastating cyber-attack that has caused chaos around the country and thousands of fatalities.

As disinformation runs rampant and the personal ambition of power brokers in technology, Wall Street, and government collide, Mullen’s unwavering search for the truth forces him to confront his own dark secrets while risking all he holds dear.