National Geographic has just released a new trailer for its upcoming limited series, The Hot Zone: Anthrax. Based on the real events around the wave of anthrax letters that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the six-part series aims to shed light on the untold layers of the story the eye-grabbing headlines missed.
The trailer introduces Matthew Ryker, played by Lost's Daniel Dae Kim, an FBI agent with a specialty in microbiology who is convinced the United States is vulnerable to a bio-weapon attack. When letters containing anthrax are discovered at Capitol Hill and several news outlets, killing five people, Ryker is tasked with hunting down the killer. His investigation is assisted by Dr. Bruce Ivins, played by Scandal's Tony Goldwyn, a brilliant microbiologist whose growing instability and paranoia eventually make him a prime suspect.
Aiding in the investigation are an array of FBI agents, from seasoned lifers to fresh-faced Quanitco graduates, played by Dawn Olivieri, Ian Colletti, Dylan Baker, and Morgan Kelly. Carlos Gonzalez-Vio and Vanessa Matsui play Irvins' colleagues at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Also starring are Enrico Colantoni as New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Harry Hamlin as NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw.
Following up National Geographic's 2019 miniseries The Hot Zone, about the 1976 Ebola outbreak in Zaire, the anthology series continues to be a chillingly timely look into invisible health risks and the brave men and women who protect us from them. Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson return as showrunners and executive producers. Jordan Sheehan, Richard Preston, and Lynda Obst are also executive producing, along with Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker for Scott Free Productions.
The Hot Zone: Anthrax will premiere over three nights on National Geographic, starting November 28. Check out the trailer below:
Here's the official synopsis for The Hot Zone: Anthrax:
With the world still reeling after the attacks on 9/11, America faces a second wave—the anthrax letters. Targeting journalists and politicians, mail with anthrax powder kills five people and causes panic across the United States. Limited series The Hot Zone: Anthrax follows FBI Special Agent Matthew Ryker (Kim) as he tracks down the killer, finding himself ensnared in an unstable web of psychological warfare. Bruce Ivins (Goldwyn) is the brilliant microbiologist who becomes embroiled in the hunt.