Zero on Netflix is one of the first Italian shows that put the country’s Black population in front and center. Omar (Giuseppe Dave Seke) lives in a neighbourhood in Milan called Barrio; it has mostly an immigrant population. When he was young, he was given a bracelet by his mother, but his mother is no longer around; he misses her, but creeps out when he sees a painting of her in their apartment. He lives with his father and sister Awa (Virginia Diop); their building is going to be redeveloped and they will get kicked out. Omar is doing what he can, working jobs like delivering pizzas, though he wants to move to Belgium and pursue a career in art. On one delivery, he gets locked in a penthouse as the couple in it has a breakup argument. Sometime later, out comes Anna (Beatrice Grannò); the two of them connect by the indoor pool. She tells him about the “broken windows” theory of how neighbourhoods go downhill; it sticks in his head when he sees yet another scooter on fire in the Barrio. As he tries to put it out, a guy named Sharif (Haroun Fall) starts chasing him with a gun, thinking he set the scooter on fire. Omar is trapped in an abandoned warehouse; he grabs his mother’s bracelet and disappears. Sharif comes and sees Omar at the pizzeria the next day, fascinated with Omar’s disappearing powers. He thinks they can do a lot of good in the Barrio with Omar’s abilities.