Remember When Nine Inch Nails Mastermind Trent Reznor Wanted to Create a TV Series?

Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor first teased us with the idea of making a TV mini-series about his album, Year Zero, as far back as 2008. The album concept of exploring the world after a nuclear war between the United States and Iran gained popularity and attracted the likes of frequend NIN collaborator David Fincher and even head honchos over at HBO and BBC. There was even confirmation by Reznor himself that a Year Zero series was in the development stages at HBO and BBC, but even that update was 10 years ago.

So, with how involved Reznor and his most frequent collaborator Atticus Ross have become with film and television... what gives?

What is Year Zero?

If you know nothing about Nine Inch Nails' sixth studio album, it was definitely more of an event than a typical album release. With the overall concept as well as the music itself, Reznor painted a post-war picture of the year 2022 in the wake of a nuclear war between the United States and Iran. He introduced us to the fictional "Bureau of Morality" which was responsible for removing actions of free speech, free enterprise, and anything deemed unacceptable by the existing government and leadership. If you didn't agree with the Bureau, you could join the "Art is Resistance" movement which was basically an underground reaction to the Bureau's fascist views and censorship.

It's fair to call the album concept an artistic reaction to what was going on in the United States in 2007 as George W. Bush's administration was drawing to a close. The United States was still fighting the longstanding War on Terror and the economy was just about to collapse, but Year Zero was definitely an interesting picture to look at. That is if you could connect the dots and understand what Reznor was trying to say.

Year Zero was a pretty big hit with fans and music critics. The music itself was solid enough and was continued proof of Reznor's capability to evolve with each album, but the concept was what resonated the most. The overall marketing campaign from former art director Rob Sheridan came complete with teaser trailers, posters, graffiti art, secret fan events, random phone numbers containing song teasers, websites, and an innovative tour titled Lights in the Sky which featured innovative, state of the art lighting effects. It's no secret that Reznor has always stayed up to date with emerging technology, but with this project he took things to another level.

"It's the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist."

Where does television come into play with all of this?

When Reznor teamed up with Atticus Ross to create the score for David Fincher's The Social Network, his presence in Hollywood became more known than it already was. When the duo took home a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for their work and were confirmed to be re-teaming for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a lot of people began to wonder why the concept of Year Zero hadn't been made into a movie or a mini-series. When Reznor officially announced in 2010 that a mini-series was in development at HBO and BBC with Carnivale writer Daniel Knauf, it seemed like the vision would come full circle.

2011, no news. 2012, no news. 2013, NIN releases a new album titled Hesitation Marks. 2014, Reznor scores Gone Girl with Atticus Ross. 2015, nothing. 2016, the duo announce an EP trilogy, remasters of existing albums, and scored the soundtrack for Before the Flood and Patriot's Day. 2017, Nine Inch Nails appears on the third season of Twin Peaks and scored the soundtrack for the PBS docuseries The Vietnam War. 2018, the duo score the soundtracks for Bird Box and Mid90s. 2019, the duo score the soundtracks for Watchmen. 2020, Nine Inch Nails is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the duo won an Oscar for scoring Disney/Pixar's Soul, scored the soundtrack for Mank, and released two new albums.

So... what happened with 'Year Zero' the TV show?

Many fans (including myself) were confused as to why a great concept like this just wasted away in development. Despite what we may think, movies and TV concepts do take a long time. Some projects take longer than others while some seem to surface right away. With a concept this intricate, it very well might have just been impossible to get it right. It also could have been the wrong climate for a series of this nature. While the album concept is surrounding the aftermath of war, former Nine Inch Nails art director Rob Sheridan has been vocal on social media since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic about how Year Zero compares to the virus (along with Donald Trump's presidency). Maybe the pandemic will spark a different interest in the concept.

But despite all of the hopeful thoughts, the reality is Trent Reznor is a very busy man. He is married with five young children, he's toured the world numerous times, helped develop Apple Music, has scored numerous films and TV shows, and is working on who knows how many projects we don't even know about yet. It's also worth mentioning that a lot of Reznor's ideas don't come to light. If Year Zero never shows up on HBO or BBC, it will be an unfortunate waste of a great concept.