Our first look at Zero Day, Netflix’s terrifying new political thriller about a cyberattack

November 21, 2024

The last time Netflix released a high-profile thriller about a cyberattack, writer-director Sam Esmail’s Leave the World Behind, it quickly blew up big-time on the streamer. That movie, about a cyberattack that causes widespread devastation, was one of most-watched Netflix original movies during the back half of 2023 -- in fact, it racked up 4.5 billion viewing minutes during December 2023 alone. And I say all that, because it leads me to think that this new Netflix series I’m about to describe, about a cyberattack and a world rife with conspiracy theories, will in all likelihood do similarly well.

Zero Day, coming to Netflix on Feb. 20, was created by former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim and Eric Newman -- a prolific Netflix creator whose work for the streamer has included Griselda, The Watcher, Narcos, and Narcos: Mexico. This new limited series also stars Robert De Niro in his first TV role, which will see him play a “beloved and highly respected former United States president” leading the investigation into a nationwide cyberattack while “battling his own personal demons.”

The creative team behind the series includes De Niro as the star and executive producer. Newman and Oppenheim wrote it and are executive-producing alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael S. Schmidt. And Lesli Linka Glatter, a director on shows like Homeland, Mad Men, and The Walking Dead, is directing all six episodes.

The limited series stars De Niro as former US President George Mullen, who heads up a group called the Zero Day Commission. As the leader of that group, he's charged with getting to the bottom of a devastating cyberattack that's led to thousands of deaths and widespread chaos. As power brokers on Wall Street and in government and technology circles collide, disinformation runs wild -- making this a show about finding truth in a world torn apart by crisis.

“Zero Day is about the aftermath of a devastating cyberattack that kills thousands of people and threatens to push a nation already on the precipice over the edge,” is how Newman explained the series in a promotion interview with the streamer. Adds Oppenheim: Zero Day “looks at the cost of power for those who are asked to take on these enormous challenges -- what it means for them personally, and what it means for their families.”

Check out more first look images from Zero Day below.

Image source: Netflix