‘Zero Day’ Season 1 Review — Robert De Niro Raises This By The Numbers Political Thriller

Netflix’s new political thriller Zero Day is streaming a Ponzi scheme, where a legendary actor signs on, assuming the project must be good. However, the series created by Eric Newman (Narcos, Narcos: Mexico, True Story) plays it too safely, almost hesitantly. Perhaps this is a byproduct of the show struggling to feel as outlandish as the real-world political chaos unfolding inside (and outside) our own government.

The plot points never truly connect, and when the show forces lazy associations, the payoffs feel disjointed. As a result, significant developments come across as fluff. Not to mention that conflicts resolve too conveniently. Also, characters make decisions with little logical motivation. It’s puzzling that Robert De Niro would choose to be part of a project like Zero Day that seems primed to take a more substantial political stance but ultimately doesn’t.

The story follows George Mullen (De Niro), a former U.S. president who remains popular with the American public despite resigning during his term after the death of his son. Mullen takes on a special post, leading an investigation into a devastating “zero-day” cyberterrorism attack that left thousands dead. The streets fill with protests and vandalism, and the country is starving for genuine leadership. Where, as Michael J. Fox’s Lewis Rothschild might say, people will crawl through the desert, discover no water, and drink the sand.

The American President references aside, the current commander-in-chief appoints Mullen alongside Chief President Evelyn Mitchell (Angela Bassett), who understands that investigating the American public could cost her a second term. Mullen’s wife, Sheila (Joan Allen), has political aspirations of her own and encourages him to accept the post. Opposing Mullen’s tactics—which include martial law, warrantless searches, seizures, and arrests—at every turn is Richard Dreyer (Matthew Modine), who hopes to challenge Mitchell in the next election.

Zero Day has a phenomenal cast. That includes Kinds of Kindess’s Jesse Plemons, who plays a loyal government staffer with a personal relationship with Mullen’s daughter (Master of Sex’s Lizzy Caplan). Mullen also brings back his former chief of staff (Friday Night Lights’ Connie Britton) as a steady hand. She must navigate pressure from CIA officials (Bill Camp), a public antagonist (Dan Stevens), and a tech mogul (Gabby Hoffmann) eager to assist with the investigation.

The main issue with Zero Day is that the series mixes ridiculous conspiracy tactics with mainstream politics. Without a smart script, the series fails before it can get started. Camp’s character is nothing more than introducing an utterly ridiculous plot point. This is strange when the writing staff on the series includes Noah Oppenheim, the president of the NBC network news division.

However, the introduction of Hoffman’s tech billionaire prying eyes character is frighteningly (and coincidentally) relevant considering what has transpired over the past few weeks. It’s hard to describe why a series plot doesn’t work without giving away spoilers. However, I can say that the connections are utterly predictable, and the supporting characters hardly develop. This leads to a contrived plot that undercuts much of the suspense. The resolution is rushed, and the payoff leads to below-average satisfaction.

You will find, I imagine, a lot of positive feedback from Netflix’s Zero Day. However, the series is not worth watching and is a disappointment from an entertainment and political message standpoint. I would argue that the series tries to be bipartisan, trying hard not to offend anyone. While De Niro is up to his usual standard of excellence, the series suffers from insufferably writing from an entertainment standpoint that refuses to mesh with its down straight, narrow political message that never quite fits.

You can stream Zero Day season 1 only on Netflix February 20th!