What To Expect From Robert De Niro’s ‘Timely & Terrifying’ Zero Day

Robert De Niro is no stranger to the silver screen – but he graces our TV screens rarely. In fact, other than 2023 Argentinian series Nada, De Niro’s starring role in Netflix’s upcoming political thriller Zero Day is his very first TV job. Naturally, we have high hopes. Here’s what to expect.

Zero Day: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

(L to R) McKinley Belcher III as Carl Otieno, Mozhan Navabi as Melissa Kornblau, Robert De Niro as George Mullen, Jesse Plemons as Roger Carlson & Connie Britton as Valerie Whitesell in Episode 102 of Zero Day. (Courtesy of Netflix © 2024)

What Will Happen?

‘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,’ co-creator Eric Newman tells Netflix. We centre on the highly respected former US president George Mullen (De Niro) who is pulled out of retirement by the current president, Evelyn Mitchell (Angela Bassett), to head up the Zero Day Commission in the wake of the attack, which is causing chaos across the nation.

Joined by his former aide Roger Carlson (Jesse Plemons) and former chief of staff Valerie Whitesell (Connie Britton), Mullen is tasked with tracking down the perpetrators – but, as the tragedy unfolds, disinformation runs rampant. George is forced to navigate the personal ambitions of power brokers in technology, Wall Street and the government – all while reckoning with his own dark secrets…

‘The show also looks at the cost of power for those who are asked to take on these enormous challenges,’ says series co-creator Noah Oppenheim. ‘What it means for them personally, and what it means for their families.’

For more of a vibes-based summary, the official synopsis from Netflix reads as follows:

‘Zero Day asks the question on everyone’s mind – how do we find truth in a world in crisis, one seemingly being torn apart by forces outside our control? And in an era rife with conspiracy theory and subterfuge, how much of those forces are products of our own doing, perhaps even of our own imagining?’

Zero Day Trailer

The Cast

As we know, De Niro takes the lead in Zero Day – but he’s joined by a cast fit to burst with Hollywood heavyweights, from Lizzy Caplan to Jesse Plemons and Angela Basset. The full line-up is as follows:

• Robert De Niro as former US president George Mullen
• Lizzy Caplan as congressman Alexandra Mullen
• Jesse Plemons as Roger Carlson
• Connie Britton as Valerie Whitesell
• Angela Bassett as President Evelyn Mitchell
• Joan Allen as Sheila Mullen, George’s wife
• Bill Camp as CIA Director Jeremy Lasch
• Dan Stevens as Evan Green, political TV host
• Matthew Modine as Richard Dreyer, Speaker of the House
• McKinley Belcher III as Carl Otieno
• Clark Gregg as Robert Lyndon
• Gaby Hoffmann as Monica Kidder
• Mark Ivanir as Natan
• Mozhan Navabi as Melissa Kornblau
• Cuyle Carvin as Agent Tom McCarthy
• Eden Lee as Special Agent Angela Kim
• Ryan Spahn as Leon Felton

Angela Bassett as President Mitchell in Episode 102 of Zero Day. (JOJO WHILDEN/Netflix © 2023)

While the star is notorious for his stringent character preparation, it seems George Mullen came quite naturally to De Niro. ‘When you see Robert De Niro in a suit and tie, with an American flag pin on his lapel, he immediately strikes you as the president we all wish we had,’ Oppenheim says. The man himself adds: ‘It wasn’t something that I had to do research about, or about the physicality of the character and so on – I was basically myself.’

‘Don’t dodge anything, don’t play games, be honest about what’s going on so that the public knows what’s going on,’ he adds. ‘That’s the spine of my character in the show.’

‘When your former president is Robert De Niro, who are you going to get who you’ll watch and believably think, “Oh, here’s someone who can hold their own against Bob?”,’ co-creator and executive producer Eric Newman adds on casting. Angela Bassett, of course. ‘She probably could have been president for real if she had set her mind to it,’ Newman says.

According to Newman, the team got very lucky in their Zero Day casting choices. ‘No one said “no” to us, which doesn’t happen very often,’ he tells Netflix. Newman created the series with Oppenheim and Michael S. Schmidt. On the production side, they are joined by Jonathan Glickman and Lesli Linka Glatter, with the latter directing all six episodes.

De Niro is also a producer – and was reportedly ‘very hands on’. ‘He very much became our partner in this process,’ Newman says. ‘Very hands-on, very involved, read everything at every stage, and it’s been an incredible honor and privilege. You can count on one hand the actors and actresses in history who bring this level of gravitas, pedigree, and talent to their work.

‘As a lifelong fan of American cinema, no actor looms larger for me than Robert De Niro,’ Newman adds. ‘To have him as a producing partner and star in this show is beyond our wildest dreams. I’m grateful to Netflix for their continued faith and support and thrilled to be in business with the amazing creative team of Noah, Lesli, and Jonathan on this timely (and terrifying) series.’

Robert De Niro as George Mullen in Episode 103 of Zero Day. (JOJO WHILDEN/Netflix © 2024)

Release Date

All six episodes of Zero Day will land on Netflix on 20 February 2025.