Robert De Niro’s new TV series has been met with disappointed reactions from critics, who have been left unimpressed by the script and thinly-veiled real-life parallels.
Netflix’s Zero Day is a political thriller that sees De Niro play former US President George Mullen.
The plot revolves around a cyberattack that paralyses the nation, killing thousands. Mullen is brought out of retirement to lead the Zero Day Commission, tasked with uncovering the truth behind the attack and identifying the perpetrators. As the investigation deepens, political and personal challenges unfold.
The show marks De Niro’s first television series lead, having mostly appeared in cinema during his illustrious career. The series is directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, who helmed the show Homeland, and features Angela Bassett as the current US President.
The Independent’s review said “even Robert De Niro cant save” the show from “poor plotting and bad writing”. “Ultimately, Zero Day is a very limited endeavour,” it reads. “It has limited capacity to surprise, limited interest in provoking, limited ability to entertain. There are worse things in life than watching Robert De Niro’s face for six episodes, but he is let down by material that turns the tortured role of president into a caricature of American earnestness.”
Deadline concurred in its review: “The show is no House Of Cards. Yes, Zero Day tries to make your chest rise with patriotic pride sometimes, and settles a few geopolitical scores, it’s no West Wing either. There are as many leaps of faith in Zero Day as at an Olympic qualifying trial.”
The Hollywood Reporter criticised the parallels with real-life politics, saying: “Zero Day aggressively wants to have it both ways when it comes to approaching reality. Sure, practically every character has a very obvious real-world counterpart and the series is anxious to pat you on the head every time you’re able to recognize who somebody or something is supposed to represent, but the observations never go deeper than surface-level references to ‘Russia’ or ‘The Patriot Act’.”
The piece then quips: “It’s the New York Times Opinion section brought to life in its barely left-tilting centrism.”
The Telegraph enjoyed De Niro’s performance, but added: “Unfortunately, it also has a lousy script. ‘George, we get this wrong, the whole world goes to hell’ a character growls. When Mullen tells off protesters for believing ‘bull—- conspiracy nonsense – you’re not behaving like an American, nor a patriot’ they immediately quieten down. Bassett, who has two Oscar nominations under her belt, delivers her lines in embarrassingly hammy fashion.”
Recently, De Niro was reported to be returning to a famous film role, reuniting with Ben Stiller for a fourth Meet The Parents Movie.
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