National Geographic re-enters ‘The Hot Zone’ with new ‘Anthrax’ drama
Almost immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, America faced another threat: anthrax.
For several weeks in the fall of 2001, envelopes containing hazardous powder were received at offices of media figures and politicians, resulting in five deaths and 17 other infections. The story of how the sources were traced and the crisis eventually contained is dramatized in National Geographic’s new sequel to its earlier miniseries “The Hot Zone,” as “The Hot Zone: Anthrax” runs over three consecutive nights starting Sunday, Nov. 28.
Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost,” “Hawaii Five0”) and Tony Goldwyn (“Scandal”) star respectively as FBI Special Agent Matthew Ryker and microbiologist Bruce Ivins.
The real-life Ivins, who took his own life in 2008, came to be a suspect in the attacks during an investigation by multiple government agencies.
“My character is an amalgamation of a number of different people involved with the investigation,” Dae Kim explains, adding that (while continuing as an executive producer of ABC’s “The Good Doctor”) he appreciates having the role. “I think it’s a sign of progress, and it’s a testament to our producers – and everyone associated with the show who are making decisions – that they thought an AsianAmerican face could represent the face of the FBI.”
Goldwyn says an “extremely helpful” component of his research was “Mirage Man,” a biography about Ivins: “It had lots of details about his life and his psyche and the investigation itself. And then (I read) a number of other books about the investigation and really just tried to steep myself in it. And then I spoke to different experts in different fields, related to both microbiology and psychiatry and some of the issues that impacted Bruce’s life.”
Among well-known personalities portrayed in “The Hot Zone: Anthrax,” Enrico Colantoni (“Veronica Mars”) appears as then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and Harry Hamlin appears as NBC News’ Tom Brokaw. Ridley Scott, Lynda Obst and “Smallville” alumni Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson return from the 2019 “The Hot Zone” (which was about the Ebola outbreak) as executive producers, joined this time by David W. Zucker (“The Good Wife”).
Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the anthrax attacks as well as 9/11, Zucker believes now is appropriate for the new miniseries.