Robert De Niro returns to serious role in Netflix dystopian thriller with absolutely stacked all-star cast

A new thriller series has just landed on Netflix and has got Robert De Niro leading a star-studded cast.

This is Zero Day, which stars De Niro as George Mullen, a former US president who is called on to help calm things down after the US is hit by a devastating cyber attack.

Check out the trailer here:

Thousands of people die, everyone panics after getting the message 'this will happen again' from the hackers and the nation turns to De Niro's respected elder statesman for answers.

"That’s the spine of my character in the show," the celebrated actor said of his new TV role. “Don’t dodge anything. Don’t play games. Be honest about what’s going on so that the public knows what’s going on.”

You can tell that Zero Day is very clearly a work of fiction, can't you?

Mullen is put in charge of the 'Zero Day Commission' and tasked with finding out the source of the deadly cyberattack, having to navigate a crisis-stricken world where disinformation lurks around every corner.

Robert De Niro leads a star-studded cast (Netflix)

De Niro said that 'right now, our actual world is scarier', but if you want to get lost in this story there are plenty of stars for you to be dazzled by.

Joining De Niro is Black Mirror star Jesse Plemons as Mullen's former aide, Lizzy Caplan as the former president's daughter trying to forge her own career outside his shadow, and Angela Bassett as the current US president who calls on Mullen to come out of retirement and help fix the crisis.

It's a serious role for De Niro, with a review from the FT saying he's 'bringing the requisite solemnity' in his performance, and it's actually a first TV role for the major movie star.

De Niro is no stranger to the serious, though for a while he did gain a bit of a reputation as a great actor who said yes to some bad roles.

Zero Day is a new Netflix thriller (Netflix)

He's also an executive producer on the show, with Zero Day's creators saying it was 'beyond our wildest dreams' to get him on board.

Filling out the cast are stars of shows like The White Lotus, Stranger Things and Downton Abbey, as Connie Britton, Joan Allen, Matthew Modine, Bill Camp, Dan Stevens and Clark Gregg all have parts to play in Zero Day.

So if you want a tense political thriller with Robert De Niro and a whole host of other celebrated actors to carry you through the drama, then you know exactly where to look to get your fill.

Zero Day can be streamed now on Netflix.