Thriller flatters to deceive

‘Zero Day’, a six-episode series, plunges viewers into a high-stakes political conspiracy that leans heavily on its star-studded cast led by the legendary Robert De Niro, who makes his OTT debut. The thriller explores the chaos following a catastrophic global cyber attack, blending cyber security intrigue with shadowy political machinations.

In today’s era where ransomware attacks dominate headlines and AI paranoia fuels existential dread, the series — created by ‘Narcos’ showrunner Eric Newman — seems poised to tap into our collective anxiety about the fragility of modern life.

‘Zero Day’ centres on George Mullen (De Niro), a former US President who stepped away from politics after one term following the tragic death of his son. Mullen is reluctantly thrust back into power circles by incumbent President Evelyn Mitchell (Angela Bassett) to lead the Zero Day Commission following a coordinated and devastating cyber attack — dubbed Zero Day — that kills thousands and cripples the nation’s infrastructure.

With a second wave of cyber strikes looming, Mullen, assisted by Roger Carlson (Jesse Plemons) and Valerie Whitesell (Connie Britton), navigates a web of conspiracy, disinformation and personal struggles. The deeper Mullen and his team go, the clearer it becomes that the attack is part of a bigger, darker plan. Mullen must confront his own demons and seek answers about who’s really pulling the strings. Is it a foreign government? A rogue hacker group? Or someone closer home?

On paper, this sounds like a recipe for a gripping thriller. In execution, however, ‘Zero Day’ stumbles, delivering an uneven experience that never fully capitalises on its potential.

The story kicks off with a bang: a massive cyber attack shuts down the entire power infrastructure for a mere minute, causing chaos — planes crash, financial systems collapse and communication networks dissolve into static. It’s easy to get swept in the urgency.

But once the initial excitement fades, the cracks appear. The plot becomes predictable — corrupt politicians, secret villains and a “big twist” you can see coming from miles away. The series wants to be ‘Mr Robot’ meets ‘House of Cards’, but plays out like a synopsis of both.

The middle stretch drowns in repetitive scenes of characters arguing in dimly-lit war rooms, typing furiously at glowing screens or chasing clues that lead nowhere. Subplots dangle without payoff: a journalist digging for truth vanishes for a long part, a rogue hacker’s motives flip-flop without explanation and a Senator’s power grab devolves into cartoonish villainy.

The series rushes to a sloppy close. The villains’ clever, chaotic plan, hyped up all along, flops with dull talk about “teaching humanity a lesson”. Last-minute heroics don’t feel exciting and deep. The show’s ambitious themes — tech addiction, political corruption, the fragility of modern life — get buried under the noise, reduced to bumper-sticker slogans like ‘We built our own prison!’

Glatter’s direction tries to lend a cinematic sheen: moody lighting, frenetic cyber-attack sequences and a palpable sense of chaos in the aftermath. But the show’s obsession with aesthetics often undermines its stakes.

The biggest strength of ‘Zero Day’ is its star power. At 81, De Niro anchors the series with a gravitas-laden performance, even when the script veers into absurdity. Bassett tries to bring depth to her role, though her character’s potential remains underexplored. The rest of the supporting cast — Plemons as Mullen’s shady right-hand man, and Lizzy Caplan, his estranged Congresswoman daughter — shines only in moments.

‘Zero Day’ is a lukewarm stew of good intentions and missed opportunities. It is a pretentious and overlong series that mistakes complexity for depth and seriousness for intelligence. With a stronger script, tighter pacing and a clearer sense of direction, it could have been an intelligent and thought-provoking thriller. Instead, it’s an uninspired series that wastes the talent of its stellar cast.