Zero Day: Is The Reapers a Real Radical Leftist Organisation?

‘Zero Day’ analyzes the modern political landscape through an inquisitive eye, made all the more riveting through its intriguing conspiracy-driven premise. It follows George Mullen, an ex-president, who has no real plans of dipping his toes back in political waters. However, everything changes after an unexpected cyberattack leads to adverse chaos, instilling fear and uncertainty into the nation’s heart. As a result, the current President, Evelyn Mitchell, pulls George back into the game by trusting him with the Commission to investigate the perpetrators behind the Zero Day attacks. In the process, the former President has to make many tough calls and navigate the rocky path toward the harsh truth.

Throughout the show, many suspects come up on George’s radar regarding their possible connections to the cyberattack. Among them, The Reapers earn a distinct spot as the Commission exercises its substantial powers—some that even bypass the Constitution—in its pursuit of the group. However, does this far-left organization has any roots in reality?

The Reapers Present a Fictionalized Far-Left Extremist Group

Most of the narrative elements within ‘Zero Day’ solely exist to fulfill its narrative purpose within the show. Therefore, even though certain characters and instances may slightly mirror reality at times, no storyline ever directly references or recreates an off-screen counterpart. As such, these on-screen elements, including The Reapers, remain confined to the screen as complete works of fiction. Interestingly enough, while there are no real-life political organizations under the same name, The Reapers do share their name with several other fictional groups. For instance, the anti-yakuza vigilante group in the 2009 video game ‘Yakuza 3’ and the antagonistic survivor group in ‘The Walking Dead’ have identical titles.

Nonetheless, this connection is likely coincidental and bears no significance to the radical leftist organization in ‘Zero Day.’ In the show, The Reapers are a budding online group of leftist radicals who are trying to come together as an effective organization. Despite their lack of proper organizational skills, the group manages to attract troublesome attention from individuals seeking to wreak actual damage on society. As a result, this thread lands them in the sights of Geroge and his Commission, who begin to arrest members of the group for interrogation purposes. The widespread national arrests have led to negative sentiments being charged around the Commission and its potential for power exploitation.

As a result, The Reapers becomes an effective plot device that highlights the fraught relationship between the public and the government that underlines a few authentic realities. The organization’s anti-capitalist ideology that strongly distrusts its government remains reminiscent of off-screen far-left politics. Nonetheless, over the years, there hasn’t been a politically similar extremist group formed by the radical left in real life. Far-left extremist organizations, as a whole, have become less and less organized and prevalent over the years.

Some of the organizations that are recognizably active include The John Brown Gun Club, a leftist gun rights group; Jane’s Revenge, a militant abortion rights group; and the Youth Liberation Front. Yet, these groups have little in common with The Reapers, save for their left-leaning preferences for extremism. Even so, the fictional radical group reflects notable parts of reality, at least in terms of ideology, since a call for socialism/communism and anarchism has long been associated with leftist radicalism. Consequently, while the anti-capitalist group isn’t based on a real-life counterpart, it highlights a realistic and underrepresented part of the far-left.