Paramount+ Buys Sci-Fi Thriller Zero Hour From Carnahan and AGBO
Paramount+ has acquired Zero Hour, a science-fiction thriller that is now in development, Deadline reported on 21 October 2026. "In development" means the show is being written and prepared, and no full season has been shot yet.
The series comes from writer and showrunner Matthew Michael Carnahan and AGBO, the production company founded by Anthony and Joe Russo. It is based on a short story by Harrison Query. The project reunites Carnahan and AGBO after they worked together on Mosul, the AGBO feature that marked Carnahan's directorial debut.
The story starts when mysterious ovals appear in the sky and the world changes. It follows a wife, a doomsday prepper, teenage runaways caught in a bank robbery, and a young presidential aide. Over time it turns into a mystery about who the visitors are and why they came.
Deadline says Paramount+ won the rights in a competitive situation with several bidders. It also describes the deal as the fourth big sale for Query in just over a year. Among his recent projects is Trigger Point, which Netflix bought in a bidding war in fall 2025. Netflix gave that show a straight-to-series order, meaning no pilot episode was shot first. Query's short story Code Black sold to Amazon MGM Studios for seven figures in 2025, with Jake Gyllenhaal set to star and produce. In July 2026 Netflix also picked up The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey, a limited series Query co-created and executive produced, starring Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen.
Paramount+ has been pushing into genre television. Jane Wiseman, the streamer's executive vice president and head of originals, has said the service wants world-building series that could define the platform. Deadline reports that a new Star Trek series is a major priority under the current leadership. Deadline also describes Zero Hour as Paramount+'s first known major buy in this area.
The deal lands during a period of change at the company. Deadline reports that it is not yet clear how Paramount+'s programming strategy may shift after Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. That deal places the streamer's content under the oversight of HBO Max chief Casey Bloys.
The series is produced by Paramount Television Studios. Its executive producers are Carnahan, AGBO, Angela Russo-Otstot, Scott Nemes, Scott Glassgold of 12:01 Films, and Query himself.
For now, the story is a sale and a plan. A writers' room has to turn a short story into episodes, and the project has to clear the next stages before any audience sees it.
