Robert De Niro Eyeing First Starring TV Role With Netflix’s ‘Zero Day’

Robert De Niro has landed a small-screen role.

According to Variety, the Academy Award-winning actor has been tapped to star in Zero Day, a Netflix limited series from Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim, Jonathan Glickman. Though plot details remain under wraps, sources tell the outlet the show is a political thriller in which De Niro plays a former United States president. 

The story comes from Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Schmidt as well as Newman and Oppenheim. The latter two have signed on to write and executive produce the series, which could mark De Niro’s first lead TV role. The 79-year-old actor is best known for his iconic roles in feature films like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Heat, The Godfather, and The Irishman, which was distributed by Netflix. He’s made a number of television appearances throughout his career, including cameos on 30 Rock, Extras, and the HBO TV movie The Wizards of Lies.

De Niro will reportedly executive produce Day Zero alongside Glickman of Panoramic Media. The producers and Netflix have yet to comment. 

The news about De Niro branching out comes just a day after it was revealed Scarlett Johansson is getting into TV acting. The 38-year-old Oscar-nominated actress has signed on to star in and executive produce Just Cause, an Amazon Prime Video series based on John Katzenbach’s 1992 novel of the same name.