By Nate Bloom
Contributing Columnist
“Zero Day” is a Netflix series that will begin streaming on Feb. 20. The show’s publicity says the series “is a political thriller centering on a devastating cyberattack.” The top two stars in the credits are Robert DeNiro and LIZZY CAPLAN, 42.
Caplan has received two Emmy nominations. She was nominated for her role in “Masters of Sex,” which ran from 2013-2016. She played Virginia Johnson, the leading research partner of Dr. William Masters. They were pioneers in the field of human sexuality.
Her second nomination was for her performance as Lizzy in the 2022 series “Fleishman Is in Trouble.” Lizzy was the Jewish ex-wife of the Jewish Dr. Toby Fleishman, the central character (JESSE EISENBERG).
“Suits L.A,” is a new NBC legal drama that will premiere on Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. It is a spin-off of “Suits,” a successful legal series that ran from 2011 to 2019. Both series were created by AARON KORSH, 58. He produced both series and wrote or co-wrote many of the shows’ scripts.
“Suits L.A.” has four starring roles. One of them is Rick Dodsen and he’s played by BRYAN GREENBERG, 48. Greenberg isn’t a star, but he has worked steadily in TV shows and films for the last 20 years. Sadly, his Los Angeles home was burned down in the raging fires of January, 2025.
Harvey Spector, an attorney in “Suits”, is now a recurring character in “L.A. Suits.” He is played by GABRIEL MACHT, 52. His father, STEPHEN MACHT, 82, was also a successful, if not a “big-time” actor. The elder Macht became quite religious in the last 20 years and he’s now ordained as a Jewish chaplain.
Somehow, the list I looked at of movies opening in theaters on Feb. 14 didn’t include “Captain America: Brave New World.” Well, it did open on the 14th and there are a lot of Jewish connections. Here they are — and they should be of interest if you have already seen the movie, or plan to see it.
I must go into some of the very involved back stories of several Marvel Comic heroes in the new film. “Brave New World” premieres a new person with the name and powers of Captain America. The real name of the new Captain America is Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie). Wilson is a Black American, who began as “the Falcon.” The Falcon was the first black superhero in Marvel comics (1969).
The Captain America comic character was created by JOE SIMON (1913-2011) and JACK KIRBY (1917-1994). The Falcon character was created by writer STAN LEE (1922-2018) and artist GENE COLAN (1926-2011). Lee was also the publisher of Marvel Comics.
In 2015, Wilson became the new Captain America. But that only lasted a couple of years for reasons way too complex to explain here. Wilson returned to being the Falcon.
Anthony Mackie appeared in two recent “Captain America” films as the Falcon. In the new film, Wilson is Captain America and Danny Ramirez, a Hispanic actor, plays Falcon. It’s worth noting that the new “Captain” flick was directed by Julius Onah, a Black man, and two of the three screenwriters are Black.
The new “Captain America” film has a complex plot. Here’s the shortest premise I found: Following the election of Thaddeus Ross as the president of the United States, Sam Wilson finds himself at the center of an international incident and must work to stop the true masterminds behind it.
President Ross is played by HARRISON FORD, 82. Ross was previously a U.S. army general and, later, Secretary of State. He has a “side gig” as being a superhero called the “Red Hulk.”
Ruth Bat-Seraph is an Israeli-American (Jewish) woman who is a high-ranking government official. She is a close ally of Ross and her views often clash with Wilson’s views. Israeli actress SHIRA HAAS, 29, plays Bat Seraph.
The Bat Seraph character has been in Marvel Comics since 1980, and the character has been praised by Jewish community groups since then. However, there have been re-writes of the Bat Seraph character for the new film. These rewrites were clearly done to make this character less controversial in the light of the ongoing Middle East conflicts.
In the comics, Bat Seraph was an Israeli Mossad agent and a mutant with super powers. In the new movie, the Mossad identification is gone — as are the super powers. Instead, Bat-Seraph is a “black widow” — a woman trained from a young age to be a skilled assassin. She remains a Jewish, Israeli-American.
TIM BLAKE NELSON, 60, has a large supporting role as Samuel Sterns. Sterns is a biologist who also has super powers.