TV

It’s almost a shame, watching Untamed, to see how little faith the show has in the very wilderness it fetishizes. From its opening moments—where a body falls off El Capitan, landing with the grace of a screenwriter’s design rather than the force of gravity—we are meant to believe we’re entering that coveted realm: the prestige procedural, taut with secrets and wound as tightly as a coil of survival rope. And yet, by episode two—somewhere between the first heavy downpour (that leaves nary a footprint erased) and the second miraculous rescue in a park the size of Luxembourg—the spell begins to lift and what’s left is a potboiler searching for a kettle.

“Hostage” is the kind of British miniseries that seems designed by committee to fool you into mistaking formula for craft. Its premise drips with promise: a Prime Minister (Suranne Jones) and a French President (Julie Delpy) caught in the same noose of blackmail and international intrigue, their personal and political fates entwined as the world watches. What we get, instead, is a muddled soufflé of clichés, the kind that deflates before it’s even made it to the table.

Zero Day is a Netflix miniseries released on February 20, 2025, positioning itself within the political thriller genre with a contemporary, cyber-oriented narrative. Created by Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim, and Michael Schmidt, and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, the series explores the aftermath of a devastating nationwide cyberattack that results in mass casualties and widespread chaos. The series seeks to intertwine themes of political power, personal trauma, and societal paranoia, all set within a framework that aims to reflect timely concerns about cyber warfare, disinformation, and governmental conspiracy. Despite its ambitious premise and high-profile cast led by Robert De Niro, the series ultimately struggles to translate its ideas into a cohesive and impactful narrative.