After the success of its outbreak drama The Hot Zone, Nat Geo is developing a sequel to the hit drama miniseries. Based on the best-selling nonfiction book of the same name by author Richard Preston, The Hot Zone explores the origins of the Ebola virus and the outbreak that was averted in the U.S. in the late 1980s. The series stars The Good Wife’s Julianna Margulies as Dr Nancy Jaax – the U.S. Army scientist responsible for preventing a full-blown Ebola outbreak from reaching the public – and co-stars Noah Emmerich (Billions), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) and Topher Grace (BlacKkKlansman).
The miniseries averaged an impressive 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and was praised for its sense of mounting tension and paranoia. After its May 27 premiere, The Hot Zone ranked as Nat Geo’s most viewed scripted show, topping other popular Nat Geo scripted productions like Mars and the first season of Genius, which chronicled the life and times of Albert Einstein. There are also rumors The Hot Zone could be a strong contender for an Emmy Award or two.
Now, it looks like Nat Geo is hoping to capitalize on The Hot Zone’s success after a Deadline exclusive reported that the channel is in talks with Fox 21 TV Studios and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions – who co-produced the first series – to develop a sequel and potentially an anthology series out of the show. The Deadline report states that though talks are still in the very early stages, it’s thought that subsequent seasons of The Hot Zone would each focus on a different health-related crisis in which science played a major role in preventing epidemics and public panic. It’s rumored that the anthrax attacks that took place in the weeks following 9/11 could be the topic of The Hot Zone’s second series should the project go ahead.
Deadline also reports that Nat Geo is putting the project on fast-track and has prioritized launching a second scripted anthology show after the success of Genius. It states the cast of the first series of The Hot Zone may be open to returning, although how that might work is unclear, especially if the second series is to focus on a completely different outbreak crisis.
The news that The Hot Zone is getting a sequel comes at a time when Nat Geo is seriously ramping up its scripted series output. Two new scripted shows – Barkskins, based on the Annie Proulx novel of the same name, and The Right Stuff, which is executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio – are set to go into production next month. Season 3 of Genius, which focuses on soul legend Aretha Franklin, is in pre-production too.
