Nat Geo has cast Tony Goldwyn and Daniel Dae Kim as the leads for Season 2 of “The Hot Zone,” which is focused on the anthrax attacks following 9/11.
“The Hot Zone” was originally intended as a limited series. But when Season 1, which was about Ebola, became the most-watched scripted series in the cable channel’s history, “The Hot Zone” became an anthology series.
As previously announced, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson will return as executive producers for the “Anthrax” season. Principal photography is set to begin shortly in Toronto.
“The Hot Zone: Anthrax” takes place in 2001, just weeks after 9/11, when the United States was rocked by another deadly act of terrorism. Letters containing deadly anthrax spores were sent to unsuspecting victims in Florida, Washington, D.C. and New York, and the anonymous assault claimed five lives and spread panic throughout the U.S. Despite interagency turf wars and many false leads, an unlikely team of scientists, FBI agents and government departments slowly closed in on a shocking prime suspect.
Goldwyn portrays Bruce Ivins, a brilliant microbiologist who becomes embroiled in the hunt to find the 2001 anthrax killer. While he works closely with the FBI to uncover who is behind the deadly anthrax letters, his growing instability and paranoia give way to even deeper and unnerving discoveries.
Kim will play Matthew Ryker, an FBI agent with a specialty in microbiology, who, just three weeks after the 9/11 attacks, risks his career to convince his superiors of the unthinkable: that the U.S. is under attack again.
Goldwyn’s character is a real person, Kim’s is a “composite” of the FBI agents involved in the case, a Nat Geo spokesperson told TheWrap.
“Tony and Daniel are both wonderfully versatile and dimensional actors who will bring complexity and depth to these characters,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of scripted and documentary films at National Geographic. “We can’t wait for their star turns in this startling, authentic and timely scientific thriller.”
“Tony Goldwyn and Daniel Dae Kim have such tremendous depth as actors and are the perfect duo to dive into the twists and turns of the deadly attacks that sent the country into panic,” Souders and Peterson added in a joint statement.
Scott Free Production’s Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker are executive producers on “The Hot Zone,” as are Jordan Sheehan and Lynda Obst. Richard Preston is a co-executive producer on the series, distributed by 20th Television.
Goldwyn is represented by CAA, Untitled and attorneys Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham. Kim is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and UTA, as well as Gang Tyre Ramer ETC.