Scripted series · National Geographic
The Hot Zone
The headlines you remember, the ending you don't.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Julianna Margulies
Lt. Col. Nancy Jaax
6 eps
Daniel Dae Kim
Matthew Ryker
6 eps
Noah Emmerich
Lt. Col. Jerry Jaax
6 eps
Tony Goldwyn
Bruce Ivins
6 eps
Nick Searcy
Frank Mays
6 eps
Liam Cunningham
Wade Carter
6 eps
Dylan Baker
Ed Copak
6 eps
James D'Arcy
Trevor Rhodes
6 eps
Mark Kelly
Bruce Domanski
6 eps
Robert Sean Leonard
Walter Humbolt
6 eps
Lenny Platt
Capt. Kyle Orman
6 eps
Topher Grace
Peter Jahrling
6 eps
Paul James
Ben Gellis
6 eps
Robert Wisdom
Vernon Tucker
6 eps
Ian Colletti
Agent Chris Moore
6 eps
Vanessa Matsui
Jody Hall
6 eps
Carlos Gonzalez-Vio
Simon Kurz
6 eps
Rosemary Dunsmore
Tante de Nancy
1 eps
Ashton James
Will
1 eps
Clark Backo
Liz Gellis
2 eps
Libby Osler
Reese
3 eps
Grace Gummer
Melinda Danport
4 eps
Harry Hamlin
Tom Brokaw
2 eps
Dawn Olivieri
Dani Toretti
4 eps
Denyce Lawton
Sheila Willis
4 eps
Raven Dauda
Dr. Halstrom
4 eps
Sochi Fried
Janice
5 eps
Kristin Booth
Nancy Haigwood
2 eps
Morgan Kelly
Eric Sykes
5 eps
Cody Ray Thompson
Dale Clemons
1 eps
Michelle Giroux
Jean Malecki
1 eps
Enrico Colantoni
Rudy Giuliani
1 eps
Lisa Ryder
Dr. Marci Layton
1 eps
Conrad Coates
Col. Marlon Charles
2 eps
William Poulin
Quinton
2 eps
Richard Waugh
Scott Parrish
2 eps
Tony Craig
Joe Curseen
1 eps
Ayesha Mansur Gonsalves
Dr. Adya Livingston
3 eps
Justin Mader
Steven Hatfill
2 eps
Martin Happer
Thomas Ivins
2 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How The Hot Zone actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
The Hot Zone reads strongest on Character Depth, Emotional Weight and Bingeability.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
In this anthology series, heroic scientists risk all to deal with deadly outbreaks.
The run
Seasons
2 seasons · 12 episodes.
Season 1 · Complete
Ebola
20196 episodes
7.4IMDbHeroic U.S. Army scientist Dr. Nancy Jaax, working with a secret military specialized team, puts her life on the line to head off an Ebola outbreak before it spread to the human population.
Best episode · S01E02 Cell H
Season 2 · Complete
Anthrax
20216 episodes
6.9IMDbAfter the events on 9/11, a team of experts track down the killer and mailer of the anthrax letters.
Best episode · S02E03 Neither Rain Nor Sleet...
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E02
Cell H
Dr. Nancy Jaax and her lab partner, Dr. Peter Jahrling, must take matters into their own hands to determine the source of the virus before it spreads; Dr. Jaax convinces an employee to hand over samples from infected monkeys.
- Directed by Michael Uppendahl
S01E01
Arrival
Dr. Nancy Jaax has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world handling deadly viruses; after a lab accident, she is faced with a possible Ebola outbreak on U.S. soil.
- Directed by Michael Uppendahl
S01E06
Hidden
A volatile situation inside the research facility comes to a head; Dr. Jaax steps up, but exhaustion threatens the precision needed to sterilize the threat; the press arrives, and neighbors become aware of the danger next door.
- Directed by Michael Uppendahl
S01E04
Expendable
An employee at the monkey research facility falls ill, causing Dr. Nancy Jaax to fear the virus has spread to the human population; Jerry Jaax searches for a way to protect his wife; Dr. Wade Carter is obsessed with exposing the dangers of Ebola.
- Directed by Nick Murphy
- Written by James V. Hart, Brian Peterson
S01E05
Quarantine
Dr. Nancy Jaax works tirelessly to find out why the virus is behaving differently than expected in human victims; unforeseen dangers arise at the research facility; Jaax is forced to make a choice between her family and her duty to her country.
- Directed by Nick Murphy
S02E03
Neither Rain Nor Sleet...
An attack on Capitol Hill sends Ryker and his team to a mail facility that’s become a hot spot for anthrax infections.
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S02E06
RMR-1029
- Directed by Daniel Percival
- Written by Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson
S02E05
Stentor Roeselii
S02E03
Neither Rain Nor Sleet...
S02E04
Dream Boldly, Live Fully
S02E01
Noble Eagle
S02E02
Hell's Chimney
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Kelly SoudersExecutive Producer
- Lena CordinaProducer
- Lynda ObstProducer
- Michael UppendahlExecutive Producer
- David W. ZuckerExecutive Producer
- James V. HartExecutive Producer
Writing
- Kelly SoudersWriter
- James V. HartWriter
- Brian PetersonWriter
Direction
- Nick MurphyDirector
- Daniel PercivalDirector
- Michael UppendahlDirector
Music
- Sean CalleryOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon Prime VideoStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- Amazon Prime Video with AdsStreaming
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