The series, a political thriller, is co-created and written by Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim, both of whom are also executive producers. Newman and Oppenheim were determined to cast the perfect actor to portray Mullen, someone who could embody the gravitas and respect needed for the role.
Oppenheim explains, "When you meet President Mullen, he’s someone the entire country feels comfortable turning to in a moment of crisis. And to achieve that authenticity, you need an actor with decades of goodwill and respect from the audience." Newman adds, "We needed someone who has a legacy as one of America’s most significant actors," and it was Newman who initially pitched the idea to De Niro over dinner. The actor loved the concept, and from that moment on, he became a key partner in the project.
Zero Day follows Mullen as he grapples with both the aftermath of the cyberattack and his own mental struggles. The show's central theme revolves around questioning the truth in a world full of uncertainty. "Having a protagonist who questions everything he’s seeing seemed very on theme," says Newman.
The inspiration behind the story has ties to real-life events. Oppenheim reveals that he had been friends with Michael Schmidt, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, for 20 years. Schmidt shared a story about a senior government official who was believed to be in the early stages of dementia, an issue that would later be publicly questioned regarding President Biden's health. This conversation sparked the idea for the series, which was further developed during a meeting between Oppenheim and Newman.
The creators faced a unique challenge in portraying a world that feels both familiar and unpredictable. "The most difficult thing was creating a world that feels very much like the insane, surprising one we live in," Oppenheim says. Newman adds, "We live in an era of truth that’s stranger than fiction, and the biggest challenge for us was keeping up with the shifting perils of the world we live in".
