Daniel Dae Kim to co-star in his first-ever lead role in Nat Geo's 'The Hot Zone'

National Geographic has chosen its stars for its next installment of the highly-rated, disease-focused anthology series, “The Hot Zone: Anthrax.”

Today, the flagship channel, along with Scott Free Productions and 20th Television (a division of Disney Television Studios), announced that Daniel Dae Kim (“Hawaii Five-0, “Lost,” “The Good Doctor,”) and Tony Goldwyn (“King Richard,” “Scandal,” “Lovecraft Country,”) will lead the six-episode show that centers on the anonymous bioterror attacks that caused panic across the country mere weeks after the chaos of 9/11. The limited miniseries depicts the trials of USAMRIID scientists, FBI agents and Justice Department personnel that joined forces to triumph over the national threat that claimed five lives and left 17 others ill. After a slew of turf wars and false alarms, the unlikely interagency team eventually cracks the case and closes in on the prime suspect.

“Tony and Daniel are both wonderfully versatile and dimensional actors who will bring complexity and depth to these characters,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of scripted and documentary films, National Geographic, in a statement.

This lead series role also happens to be Kim's first. "Hardly the biggest news given what’s going on in the world today, But after 31 years of working in TV, this is my first series lead," the 52-year-old actor tweeted.

Growing up, Kim's parents have said they had hopes their son would become a doctor, lawyer or banker, the actor told NBC News in the past. However, after he took an acting class as an elective in college, he pursued acting as a career instead — a decision that initially worried his family. Now, his career includes highly-acclaimed roles in film, stage and television and has garnered his parent's support.

In “The Hot Zone: Anthrax,” Kim will portray Matthew Ryker, an FBI agent with a specialty in microbiology, while Goldwyn will take on the role of Bruce Ivans, a brilliant microbiologist who gets caught up in the hunt for the anthrax killer. While working closely with law enforcement to unravel the mystery of the deadly letters, Goldwyn himself begins to unravel, giving way to deeper and unnerving discoveries about the complex crime.

The eerily timely, scientific thriller follows last year’s “The Hot Zone,” which starred Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies (“The Good Wife,” “ER,” “Snakes on a Plane,”) and was touted as National Geographic’s most-watched scripted series of all time. Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson will return for the second installment as executive producers and showrunners. They are joined by Scott Free Production’s Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker who will also executive produce, along with Jordan Sheehan and Lynda Obst. Richard Preston is a co-executive producer on the series. Principal photography is slated to begin this winter 2021 in Toronto.

Goldwyn is represented by CAA, Untitled, and attorneys Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham. Kim is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and UTA, as well as Gang Tyre Ramer ETC.

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