18 March, 2025 Siobhan Marie Day 0 Comments 3 categories

Genre Drama Anthology Created by James V. Hart Based on The Hot Zone by Richard Preston Developed by Kelly Souders Brian Peterson Jeff Vintar Starring Julianna Margulies Noah Emmerich James D'Arcy Liam Cunningham Topher Grace Tony Goldwyn Daniel Dae Kim Country of origin United States Original language English No. of seasons 2 No. of episodes 12 Production Executive producers Lynda Obst Kelly Souders Brian Peterson Jeff Vintar Ridley Scott Michael Uppendahl Running time 44–53 minutes Production companies Peterson/Souders Lynda Obst Productions Scott Free Productions 20th Television[a] Original release Network National Geographic Release May 27, 2019 – November 30, 2021

America in the Hot Zone…

The Hot Zone is an American medical drama anthology series inspired by Richard Preston’s 1994 non-fiction book of the same name, which aired on National Geographic. The first season, a six-episode miniseries, aired from May 27 to 29, 2019. Primarily set in 1989, it follows U.S. Army scientist Nancy Jaax (Margulies), a veterinary pathologist who discovers a potential Ebola outbreak after identifying the virus in monkeys housed at a Primate Quarantine Facility near Washington, D.C. The season received positive reviews and was later renewed for a second installment.

Julianna Margulies as Col. Nancy Jaax in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

Topher Grace and Julianna Marguiles in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

Scene of the Primate Quarantine Facility Outbreak in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story is a bestselling 1994 nonfiction thriller by Richard Preston that explores the origins and outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fevers, particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. The book was inspired by Preston’s 1992 New Yorker article, “Crisis in the Hot Zone.”

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story is a best-selling 1994 nonfiction thriller by Richard Preston about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers, particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses.[1][2] The basis of the book was Preston's 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone".[3] The filoviruses—including Ebola virus, Sudan virus, Marburg virus, and Ravn virus—are Biosafety Level 4 agents, extremely dangerous to humans because they are very infectious, have a high fatality rate, and most have no known prophylactic measures, treatments, or cures. Along with describing the history of the devastation caused by two of these Central African diseases, Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, Preston described a 1989 incident in which a relative of Ebola virus, Reston virus, was discovered at a primate quarantine facility in Reston, Virginia, less than 15 miles (24 km) away from Washington, D.C.

Richard Preston of the National Geographic series 'The Hot Zone' poses for a portrait during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival at Spring Studio on April 30, 2019 in New York City. Photo by Corey Nickols/Contour by Getty Images

Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a diverse group of diseases. Viral means a health problem caused by infection from a virus. Hemorrhagic means to bleed and fever means an unusually high body temperature. Both humans and non human animals can be infected. In the case of VHFs, bleeding and fever are common symptoms, and why they give the infection its common name. There are five known families of RNA viruses which cause VHFs: Arenaviridae, Filoviridae, Flaviviridae, Hantaviridae, and Rhabdoviridae. Some VHFs are usually mild, such as nephropathia epidemica (within the family Hantaviridae). But some are usually severe and have a high death rate, such as Ebola virus (within the family Filoviridae). All VHFs can potentially cause severe blood loss, high fever, and death.

The genus Marburgvirus is the taxonomic home of Marburg marburgvirus, whose members are the two known marburgviruses, Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV). Both viruses cause Marburg virus disease in humans and nonhuman primates, a form of viral hemorrhagic fever.[1] Both are select agents,[2] World Health Organization Risk Group 4 Pathogens (requiring Biosafety Level 4-equivalent containment),[3] National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Category A Priority Pathogens,[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Category A Bioterrorism Agents,[5] and are listed as Biological Agents for Export Control by the Australia Group.

Reston virus (RESTV) is one of six known viruses within the genus Ebolavirus. Reston virus causes Ebola virus disease in non-human primates; out of all 6 ebolaviruses, it is one of the only two not known to cause disease in humans, but has caused asymptomatic infections.[1][2][3] Reston virus was first described in 1990 as a new "strain" of Ebola virus (EBOV).[4] It is the single member of the species Reston ebolavirus, which is included into the genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae, order Mononegavirales.[5] Reston virus is named after Reston, Virginia, US, where the virus was first discovered. RESTV was discovered in crab-eating macaques imported by Hazleton Laboratories (now Fortrea) in 1989. This attracted significant media attention due to Reston's location in the Washington metropolitan area and the lethality of a closely related Ebola virus. Despite its status as a level-4 organism, Reston virus is non-pathogenic to humans, though hazardous to monkeys;[6][7] the perception of its lethality was compounded by the monkey's coinfection with Simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV).[8] Despite ongoing research, the determinants for lack of human pathogenicity are yet to be discovered

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story is a bestselling 1994 nonfiction thriller by Richard Preston that explores the origins and outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fevers, particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. The book was inspired by Preston’s 1992 New Yorker article, “Crisis in the Hot Zone.”

Preston details the dangers of filoviruses—including Ebola virus, Sudan virus, Marburg virus, and Ravn virus—which are classified as Biosafety Level 4 agents due to their extreme infectiousness, high fatality rates, and the lack of known treatments, vaccines, or cures for most strains. In addition to chronicling the devastation caused by Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease in Central Africa, the book highlights a 1989 incident in which Reston virus, a relative of Ebola, was discovered at a primate quarantine facility in Reston, Virginia, located less than 15 miles (24 km) from Washington, D.C.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of Ebola virus particles (green) found both as extracellular particles and budding particles from a chronically infected African Green Monkey Kidney cell (blue); 20,000x magnification

Central Africa (French: Afrique centrale; Spanish: África central; Portuguese: África Central) is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Middle Africa is an analogous term used by the United Nations in its geoscheme for Africa and consists of the following countries: Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. The United Nations Office for Central Africa also includes Burundi and Rwanda in the region, which are considered part of East Africa in the geoscheme.[1] These eleven countries are members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).[1] Six of those countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of the Congo) are also members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and share a common currency, the Central African CFA franc.

Essential features of a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory A biosafety level (BSL), or pathogen/protection level, is a set of biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed laboratory facility. The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) to the highest at level 4 (BSL-4). In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have specified these levels in a publication referred to as Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL).[2] In the European Union (EU), the same biosafety levels are defined in a directive.[3] In Canada the four levels are known as Containment Levels.[4] Facilities with these designations are also sometimes given as P1 through P4 (for pathogen or protection level), as in the term P3 laboratory.[5] At the lowest level of biosafety, precautions may consist of regular hand-washing and minimal protective equipment. At higher biosafety levels, precautions may include airflow systems, multiple containment rooms, sealed containers, positive pressure personnel suits, established protocols for all procedures, extensive personnel training, and high levels of security to control access to the facility. Health Canada reports that world-wide until 1999 there were recorded over 5,000 cases of accidental laboratory infections and 190 deaths.

CNN's Athena Jones reports on the Reston strain of the Ebola virus that hit the U.S. in 1989.

1989 incident in which Reston virus, a relative of Ebola, was discovered at a primate quarantine facility in Reston, Virginia, located less than 15 miles (24 km) from Washington, D.C.

The first season of The Hot Zone stars Julianna Marguiles as Col. Nancy Jaax, Noah Emmerich, Liam Cunningham, Topher Grace, Paul James, Robert Sean Leonard and James D’Arcy.

Noah Emmerich as Col. Jerry Jaax in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

Liam Cunningham as Wade Carter in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

Topher Grace as Dr. Peter Jahrling in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

Paul James as Ben Gellis in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

Robert Sean Leonard as Walter Humboldt in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

James D'Arcy as Travis Rhodes in "The Hot Zone" (2019) Photo Credit: National Geographic

The Hot Zone is the Featured Television Blog of the month for March, you can expect a detailed critique of the mini series where we look at the ebolavirus outbreak in Washington, D.C.. There is also a recommendation of the anthology series that includes a look at the cast of the series with the real life characters portrayed, as well as a detailed synopsis of all six episodes. There is also a detailed review of Richard Preston’s book that the series is adapted from. For the interview, a look at the companion documentary to The Hot Zone, Going Viral, from National Geographic. There is also a Top Ten List, and for The Hot Zone, My Top Ten Julianna Marguiles Movies/Series. Last but not least, the Featured Television Blog of the month includes an Official Trailer for the featured series!