Two-time Oscar-winner stars in Netflix's new thriller series

I've said it countless times before, but Netflix and plenty of the other big players vying to be the best streaming service all know the power of a huge star. Whether they're the buzziest young actor of the day, or a seasoned performer, a recognisable face can surely pump subscription numbers up.

Robert De Niro definitely falls into the latter category, as a box office mainstay who's been fronting up movies for decades, so it's quite a coup that Netflix has him starring in a new limited series dropping on 20 February – Zero Day.

ZERO DAY | Official Teaser | Netflix - YouTube

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The series looks like a political thriller of the highest order, with its title coming from a mysterious cyber-attack that seems to have temporarily crippled at least parts of the US. De Niro will play a former president who gets roped into the search for its perpetrators, and it looks like things will be far from simple.

With the possibility that this might have been a false flag attack being pretty openly implied in the first trailer, embedded above, it would seem De Niro's character will be navigating choppy waters even with his experience of politics. Jesse Plemons also stars, as does Angela Bassett as the current president of the country.

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With inquiries being launched and theories flying around, it's clear that we'll get some action to go with our intrigue. There are a few glimpses of raids and arrests, raising the possibility that the series will dice with America's ongoing political climate in some punchy ways.

As Netflix is keen to point out, this is De Niro's first ever TV series, and that's a huge thing for a two-time Oscar winner like him. Gone are the days when a series looked like a career graveyard compared to the movie business, and if someone as experienced as De Niro agrees, we might already have crossed that Rubicon. He obviously has experience with Netflix after the success of The Irishman a few years ago, but you've still got to take your hat off to the streamer for winning him over once again.