Zero Day

Sometimes, you can watch a series set in ostensible reality and say, “That could not happen.” It’s absurd. Inane. And “Let’s watch another episode.” Such is the case with “Zero Day,” in which characters do things they never would and the public acts in ways that defy belief, while at the same time the premise is compellingly sound. And the story becomes impossible to let go.

Handsomely made, politically prescient and packing some serious star power, Zero Day makes up for a meandering middle with two properly thrilling final episodes.

As we start to see more of the conspiracy unfold, and the players emerge from the shadows, the plot twists will have the audience questioning what they think they know. But one thing is never in doubt: President Mullen is the man we’d all want in our corner in a crisis.

An astonishing amount of fun – firmly grounded by De Niro and his portrait of a good man struggling to do the right thing in a world that offers corruption at worst, and only compromise at best.

It almost feels as if we’re racing to the finish line in the finale, with certain plot points and characters getting tied up in too-convenient fashion, and some questions still hovering over the proceedings as we fade to black. Still, “Zero Day” is a timely and thought-provoking slice of alternate political reality, with the great De Niro in commanding form.

It has the aesthetics of a weighty political drama with the soul of an airport paperback. It's like a high-end version of Designated Survivor. If your expectations are set at "fun," not "important" or "great," you will have a good time.

The cast of Zero Day is the main reason why we’re going to keep watching, but the final moments of the first episode gave the story more intrigue than what we’ve seen from terrorism thrillers in the recent past.

It does it well, for the most part. Part political statement, part soap opera, the series gains momentum as it goes along, and toward the end there are a few plot developments for which, at any other time in history, the reaction would be: Too on the nose.

Zero Day aims high and comes up short of the heights of shows like Homeland, but at six episodes, it manages to be thrilling without overstaying its welcome.

“Zero Day” ultimately lacks any defining elements that could render it, at minimum, a memorable six-episode experience. However, the energy and momentum never lag to the point that switching over to anything else feels needed.