"Zero Day" How Robert De Niro wants to save America as ex-US president
The USA is on the brink: a cyberattack shakes the nation in the Netflix series "Zero Day". Robert De Niro, who finds himself at the center of a media smear campaign as the ex-US president, is supposed to save it.
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- Trump critic Robert De Niro has long remained silent, but now his series "Zero Day" is storming the Netflix charts.
- The six-part series is about a cyber attack and conspiracy theories.
- De Niro plays an ex-president who has to save democracy.
Actor Robert De Niro is always blatant in his disdain for Donald Trump.
In the past, he has referred to the US president, who was sworn in a month ago, as a "clown", a "tyrant" or even called the Republican "crazy". He wanted to "destroy America", the Hollywood star orated months before the election.
Since Trump's return to the White House, De Niro has kept a low profile, but is now slipping into the role of the US head of state himself - or rather that of the ex-president.
TV presenter stirs up trouble against ex-US president
The man goes by the name of George Mullen and is brought out of retirement in the six-part Netflix conspiracy thriller "Zero Day". The reason is the titular zero hour after an unprecedented attack on the US population.
3402 deaths and a "nationwide, total horror" burn "Zero Day" relentlessly into the collective US memory in the Netflix dystopia. As a result of a global cyberattack, computer systems have been hijacked and smartphones of all US citizens have been infiltrated.
Neither the secret services nor the incumbent US President Mitchell (played by Angela Bassett) know who is behind it.
Mullen, of all people, is supposed to help by declaring war on disinformation and cyber terror. As head of an investigation team, the senior citizen is on the front line.
Robert De Niro in his first leading role in a series
But he hardly has time. While an angry mob demands retribution, the political commission launches a manhunt in which civil rights are more annoying guard rails than binding guidelines.
In the midst of this precarious overall situation, secrets about Mullen threaten to come to light, tainting not only his current actions but also his past as US president.
This manoeuvres the ageing politician into the center of a media smear campaign, which the sensationalist presenter Evan Green (Dan Stevens) in particular relishes in his late-night TV show.
Disinformation, an increasingly polarized population and an uninhibited media system: the parallels between Netflix fiction and US reality are unmistakable in "Zero Day".
The streamer relies on prominent personnel for this - not only with Oscar winner Robert De Niro in his first leading role in the series.
Netflix is also relying on an experienced team behind the camera: director Lesli Linka Glatter celebrated success with "Homeland", while series creators Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim are both Emmy winners. And Pulitzer Prize winner Michael S. Schmidt is responsible as the author.
