HBO is developing a limited series based on a computer virus. Ok, that’s not quite true, and it’s not as absurd as it sounds. The network is developing a series with filmmaker Alex Gibney that will be based off Gibney’s 2016 documentary Zero Days, which told the story of Stuxnet.
What is Stuxnet? It’s a self-replicating piece of computer malware developed (probably) by the west, designed to disable and destroy nuclear facilities in the middle east. As the documentary goes on to reveal, it opened a Pandora’s box of dangerous cyber warfare, ushering in a new era of conflict that some have compared to the cold war.
HBO has hired Stephen Schiff (The Americans) to write the project, while Gibney is set to direct as well as produce. Carnival Films (Downton Abbey) will be producing the series.
The documentary is a fascinating one, even if it is akin to a visual rendition of a Wikipedia article on the subject. It’s hard to visualise the danger of powerful malware, and as the documentary proved, it’s even harder to get important people to talk about how, why and (officially) by who the malware was developed.
It’ll be interesting to see how the material is adapted for a limited series. Zero Days practically gives us all the information we’re currently able to know, and it’s quite terrifying.
Whether the limited series – currently under the working titled Stuxnet – will be able to adapt a real-life story that mostly exists in the ether of cyberspace, and has most of its information classified, into a compelling drama will be interesting to track. But HBO and its track record probably deserve the benefit of the doubt that it will be something worth watching.
#Peace.Love.Stuxnet
