Regardless of how you judge the current president of the United States and his painfully evident foibles, the holder of the office is widely considered the most powerful person in the world. That may make people uneasy these days, considering that the actions of POTUS have the potential to be literally globe shattering. But the far-reaching implications of so many high-level political decisions have also proven to be the inspiration for a plethora of fictional thrillers in print and on screen — so many that there should probably be a specific genre designation for them.
Filmmakers have relied on executive branch conflict to instigate the storylines of everything from the serious inside-the-White-House drama The American President to the common-man-in-the-Oval-Office rom-com Dave to the action movie Air Force One — the latter starring Harrison Ford as a tough-as-nails president, a position he also filled as a different president with similar grit in the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe installment Captain America: Brave New World. On the TV series side, there have been long-running shows devoted entirely to the denizens of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, such as The West Wing and House of Cards.
Two accomplished and addictive streaming releases are currently continuing the presidential cavalcade. The six-episode miniseries Zero Day on Netflix and the eight-episode premiere season of Paradise on Hulu introduce the travails of some distinctly different commanders-in-chief, their families, their colleagues and aides, and even their successors. There are significant contributors in front and behind the camera, with the biggest name being the venerated Oscar-winner Robert De Niro, whose lead in Zero Day is his first television project. And the Academy Award-nominated Sterling K. Brown stars in Paradise — the latest creation of show-runner Dan Fogelman, whose highly decorated prime-time dramatic series This Is Us gave Brown a role that earned him one of his two Emmy Awards..
‘Zero Day’
With characters and circumstances that are uncomfortably close to some in the contemporary political landscape, Zero Day spins a tale of cyberterrorism in modern-day America, government intrigue, and family tragedy. A stunning nationwide attack on computer systems and electrical grids that results in countless deaths compels U.S. President Evelyn Mitchell, played by Academy Award-nominated Angela Bassett, to ask her predecessor, retired President George Mullen (Robert De Niro), to head up a commission to investigate the disaster. Mullen has been writing his memoirs and secretly dealing with troubling mental issues that suggest his decision to not seek a second term might have been due to more than lingering grief over the untimely death of his son. Still, Mullen’s concern for his country’s well-being moves him to take the reins of the Zero Day Commission.
As he and his team try to figure out the mechanics of the attack and search for those responsible, Mullen enters into conflict with old enemies in Congress led by the conniving speaker of the house (Matthew Modine), finds himself at odds with an arrogant Silicon Valley mogul (Gaby Hoffman), and is vilified by frightened citizens who have been enflamed by a coarse, libertarian podcaster (Dan Stevens). Even Mullen’s wife (Joan Allen), who is up for a judgeship, and his estranged daughter (Lizzy Caplan), as Representative Alexandra Mullen, question him and his mental acuity. Meanwhile, his longtime aide (Jesse Plemons) and former chief of staff (Connie Britton) are brought into the commission for support, although they too begin to wonder about Mullen’s seeming lapses in clarity.
Zero Day was created by the show’s head honcho Eric Newman with fellow scribes Noah Oppenheim and Michael Schmidt. It was in development and began production during President Biden’s term, so it’s probably no coincidence that certain aspects evoke that administration. Various GOP representatives, blowhard broadcasters, and tech oligarchs seem to be touchstones for other players embroiled in the plot. Nonetheless, De Niro and an accomplished supporting cast give these de facto doppelgangers lives of their own. The scripts generate an air of plausibility, yet zag and zag in unexpected ways. Director Lesli Linka Glatter guides each episode with confidence, bringing it to a satisfactory conclusion.
With a talent like De Niro as your north star, it’s a bit easier to steer a ship into port, especially one laden with conspiracies, professional and personal betrayals, possible mind control, and the pursuit of elusive truth amidst a plague of disinformation.
Zero Day is available for streaming on Netflix.
Paradise
Looking at the seat of power from the perspective of one who is tasked with protecting it and then throwing the whole shebang into chaos when a stunning crime is committed, Paradise somehow manages to incorporate mystery, intrigue, love, loss, weird science, and world-building into what at first seems to be the tale of a dedicated secret service agent and his fractious relationship with the president he’s guarding. The initial interplay between Agent Xavier Collins (an impassive-turning-fiery Sterling K. Brown) and President Cal Bradford (James Marsden, calculatedly JFK-esque in appearance) as he enters his second term is mere set-up for the tumultuous events to come. A leap forward in time during the first episode of the series implies that Bradford has retired to a quiet, upscale suburban town with Collins and the rest of the Secret Service team remaining in place. But shortly thereafter, it becomes clear that nothing is quite what it seems.
A wealthy techie (Julianne Nicholson) is pulling strings in the community; Collins is revealed as a single father of two with tragedy in his past; the president’s more intimate escapades complicate the picture; a psychotherapist (Sarah Shahi) knows the innermost hopes, fears, and questionable activities of a few significant patients, and the aforementioned crime needs to be solved. It would be fair to say that Paradise takes off in some truly surprising directions. The first season has not aired its final episode and the series has already been renewed by Hulu, so further revelations would be premature and could ruin the enjoyment of watching the program with no preconceptions. As noted above, this production is the brainchild of Dan Fogelman, and his vision of Paradise is proving to be one that incorporates both heaven and hell to memorable effect.
Paradise is available for streaming on Hulu.