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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchZero Day is a fictional Netflix political thriller about a catastrophic cyberattack and the investigation that follows. The 2025 limited series has six episodes, stars Robert De Niro as a former U.S. president, and is not a dramatization of a specific real attack.
What is Zero Day about?
Former U.S. President George Mullen (Robert De Niro) is called out of retirement by President Evelyn Mitchell (Angela Bassett) to lead the Zero Day Commission, tasked with investigating a devastating cyberattack. As the commission follows the evidence, the story brings together competing interests in government, technology and finance, alongside disinformation and public pressure. Its central question is how people can establish what is true during a national crisis.
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Netflix describes the series as fiction. The imagined attack is the catalyst for a political thriller, not a reenactment of a documented incident.
Who is in the cast and who made the series?
Alongside De Niro and Bassett, the principal cast includes:
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- Jesse Plemons as Roger Carlson, Mullen’s former aide
- Lizzy Caplan as Alexandra Mullen, his daughter
- Connie Britton as Valerie Whitesell, a political operative
- Joan Allen as Sheila Mullen
- Matthew Modine as House Speaker Richard Dreyer
- Bill Camp as CIA director Jeremy Lasch
- Dan Stevens as broadcaster Evan Green
- McKinley Belcher III as investigator Carl Otieno
- Gaby Hoffmann as technology billionaire Monica Kidder
- Clark Gregg as corporate raider Robert Lyndon
- Mark Ivanir as intelligence operative Natan
Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim and Michael S. Schmidt created the series. Lesli Linka Glatter directed all six episodes, and Netflix lists De Niro as an executive producer. Netflix’s series overview provides the cast and production credits.
How many episodes are there?
Zero Day has six episodes. Netflix’s official title page lists these runtimes and brief episode descriptions:
| Episode | Runtime | Netflix’s episode description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49 minutes | Mullen’s retirement ends when he is asked to lead an investigation into a cyberattack. |
| 2 | 59 minutes | The commission investigates a hacking ring as President Mitchell weighs retaliation. |
| 3 | 50 minutes | Initial arrests prompt public backlash, while Alexandra faces pressure to investigate her father. |
| 4 | 53 minutes | A financial shock increases scrutiny, and Valerie investigates Proteus. |
| 5 | 43 minutes | A family tragedy reopens old wounds, and Sheila testifies before Congress. |
| 6 | 53 minutes | A new threat creates unrest as Mullen narrows in on the culprit. |
These are Netflix’s published summaries, not full recaps. The series premiered February 20, 2025. Catalog presentation and availability can vary by region.
Is Zero Day based on a true story?
No. Netflix’s expert feature identifies the series as fictional; it does not adapt one specific cyberattack or real investigation. Its premise draws on a genuine broad concern—cyberattacks can cause serious disruption—but that does not make the show’s events a prediction or a true-story account.
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Netflix consulted cybersecurity expert Clint Watts, a former FBI special agent, and political consultant Eric Schultz, formerly a principal deputy White House press secretary. The production also aimed for realistic government settings and protocol. Consultation can inform a drama, but it does not establish that every plot mechanism is technically or procedurally accurate.
Could an attack like the one in the series happen?
Netflix’s February 20, 2025 feature presents a qualified answer rather than treating the show’s catastrophe as a forecast. Watts says a major cyberattack is a real and serious threat, but considers a coordinated attack on the scale depicted unlikely because it would require extensive human organization. That is his assessment as quoted in Netflix’s feature, not a guarantee that such an event is impossible or a universal technical consensus.
Schultz, discussing the political response, says Congress and the president could move quickly if they chose to establish an emergency commission. That observation concerns the possibility of government action; it does not validate the series’ entire response or investigation as a documentary account. Netflix also quotes co-creator Michael S. Schmidt on longstanding official concern about catastrophic cyberattacks.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does “zero day” mean?
A zero-day vulnerability is a software weakness that has not yet been patched or otherwise fixed when it is exploited. The term can also refer informally to an attack that exploits such a weakness, but the vulnerability and the attack are distinct: one is the flaw, the other is the means of taking advantage of it. In Netflix’s explanation of the show’s terminology, co-creator Eric Newman describes malware targeting software while it is defenseless against that attack; a patch can close that particular vulnerability, after which an attacker would need another route.
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How did the series perform at launch?
Netflix reported on February 25, 2025 that Zero Day ranked No. 2 on its English TV list with 19.1 million views in its first four days. Netflix also said it entered the Top 10 in 91 countries and ranked No. 1 in 43. These are Netflix-published launch figures; the 19.1 million figure is not presented here as an independently audited count or as a measure of unique viewers. Netflix’s viewing report is the source for the reported numbers.
Is there a real-world book connected to the show?
Netflix says director Lesli Linka Glatter read Kim Zetter’s Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon for inspiration. It is optional background on a documented cyber operation, not a companion book that explains the fictional plot.
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