While Jude Law‘s criminally underrated crime thriller <em>The Order</em> failed to make its mark on the awards circuit, its production ultimately led to a limited series that is poised to become Netflix’s next big conversation-starter if it can break through the binge-model barrier. Created by The Order‘s Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, Black Rabbit is a dark, cautionary tale about brotherhood, addiction, and keeping things above board. If you thought Cain and Abel were bad, you simply haven’t met Jake (Law) and Vince (Jason Bateman) Friedken yet.

What Is ‘Black Rabbit’ About?

Black Rabbit starts slow, introducing audiences to Law’s Jake Friedken in isolation from the chaos he’s on the precipice of experiencing. He’s a well-dressed glad-hander who manages to circumvent being pinned as a sleazeball by way of being a down-to-earth guy who loves his son, has a good relationship with his ex-wife (Dagmara Dominczyk), and boasts a degree of earnestness that isn’t just for show. All of these elements are revealed within the first five minutes as Jake makes his way to his restaurant, the eponymous Black Rabbit. Things fall apart quite quickly once he arrives and gives a little speech about the ethos of the restaurant and wanting to make “a place where the night could go anywhere.” In the seconds that follow these ominous words, gunmen emerge, things get stolen, and people get shot. It’s an explosive introduction to the world of Black Rabbit, and many nuances to the scene are even better on a rewatch.

With a gun shoved in Jake’s face, Black Rabbit jumps back in time to precisely one month before the hold-up. Flashbacks are one of the most divisive storytelling tools, but Baylin and Susman’s series manages to circumvent the device’s fatal flaws by maintaining the same pace and stakes in the present, the recent past, and in childhood flashbacks. Some are also pure fun, used to color the narrative with a glimpse into the brothers’ former lives as rock stars. Who exactly would argue with watching a Temu Kurt Cobain-styled Jude Law sing grungy music alongside Jason Bateman and far too many rabbit-headed bodies? It’s a brief diversion from the tense, nail-biting plotline playing out in the present.

Jude Law and Jason Bateman Are Perfection in ‘Black Rabbit’

With the mystery of who would do this to Jake and the restaurant “family,” Black Rabbit becomes a bit of a whodunit. The fact — as it’s laid out in the premiere — is that Vince has dropped back into Jake’s life after circumstances drove them apart, and he’s nothing but trouble. To elaborate, he’s the kind of trouble who lacks remorse after killing someone, who can conjure a convincing lie out of thin air, and who has a laundry list of enemies across New York City waiting for him to touch down in Manhattan again — namely, the local bookie, Joe Mancuso (Troy Kotsur), who has long-standing ties to the Friedken family, and an axe to grind with Vince. His son, Junior (Forrest Weber), is hot-headed and desperate to appease daddy, while his right-hand man, Babbitt (Chris Coy) tries to keep him in line.

Both Jake and Vince are grifters, just in different fonts. Vince is not as slick or as clever as Jake, but he knows how to use his squirrely, beleaguered personality to his advantage. He quickly goes from being the black sheep to the prodigal son if only for a brief moment. Jake is far from ignorant of his brother’s flaws, but — like many people with troubled family members — he so badly wants to believe this time will be different. As someone glibly remarks later on in the series, Vince may be an addict, but Jake is addicted to his brother. Law and Bateman fully sell this Cain and Abel dynamic to the point that you forget you’re watching two of the greatest dramatic actors of their generation doing what they do best. For eight episodes, they’re simply a pair of born-and-bred New Yorkers bickering at each other with a familiarity that feels genuinely brotherly. They never quite try to one-up each other when they’re going toe-to-toe, but the script — and their performances — tip the scales from time to time in ways that make you question who you should be rooting for.

Trouble was already lurking within the Black Rabbit long before Vince showed up. His return simply exposes how ill-equipped Jake is at running a restaurant. His inaction isn’t as malicious as Vince’s actions, but the willful negligence he displays when it comes to the staff he calls “his family” shows how similar the two brothers really are. Black Rabbit toys with the incestuous nature of the restaurant industry — especially within a restaurant where the lines between employee and “family” are blurred — with mixed success. Despite being a main subplot, much of the interpersonal drama within the Black Rabbit gets overshadowed by Jake and Vince’s runaround to escape their bookie debts, which is a shame because some of the best dynamics in the series exist outside the brothers.

‘Black Rabbit’s Excellent Ensemble Cast Is the Show’s Glue

The Black Rabbit starts out as Vince’s lofty dream before his recklessness forces Jake to cut him out of the picture. Together they assembled an underdog team: Wes (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù), a rising music star and investor; his esteemed interior designer girlfriend Estelle (Cleopatra Coleman); Roxie (Amaka Okafor), an ambitious chef ready to make a name for herself; her second-in-command Tony (Robin de Jesus); a bright-eyed and formidable bartender Anna (Abbey Lee); and Mel (GusBirney) their host. By design these characters only really exist when they’re directly in the path of Jake or Vince. While it does sometimes leave them feeling underdeveloped it ultimately serves narrative because both men are so self-centered these characters cease to exist unless they’re in their periphery.</b></p>
<p><b>Four years removed from his Oscar win for </b><em><b>CODA</b></em>, Kotsur remains a stalwart performer. His role in <em><b>Black Rabbit </b></em>is quite small — despite appearing in most episodes — but he haunts narrative. When he is on-screen he shines as an intimidating mobster-type though there’s duality character that’s never quite explored its fullest. Another stand-out is Gen (<b>Odessa Young </b>, also from <em><b>The Order </b></em>), Vince’s estranged daughter who finds herself victim by association. She has very minor role but her handful scenes particularly with Bateman stick landing.<b>Morgan Spector </b>weaves in and out episodes commanding every scene same intensity possesses<b>in </b><em><b>The Gilded Age </b></em>though far more menacing aura.<b>Black Rabbit's only real flaw is it has so many compelling characters we don’t spend enough time with.</b></p>
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‘Black Rabbit’ Has a Surprising ‘Ozark’ Reunion Behind the Camera
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<figcaption>BLACK RABBIT, Jason Bateman, (Season 1, ep. 103)</figcaption>
<small class="body-img-caption">Image via Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection</small>
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<p>A mere three years after<strong><em>Ozark </em>end its tenure as one of Netflix’s first true prestige series,Black Rabbit provides fans reunion behind camera.Bateman directs first pair episodes followed by co-starLaura Linney on Episodes 3 4.While both actors have long proven themselves front camera their directorial capabilities impressive testament why they’re both good-screen.

Black Rabbit may get lost its own unrelenting pace but manages deliver satisfying albeit devastating conclusion feels frighteningly true life.That unsettling realism ultimately what makes series so compelling though also hurdle story overcome.Each 45-minute episode requires hefty breather once credits roll isn’t something binge model built.
Given style series fact success reliant fully engaged viewer could very well sleeper hit long after initial drop.
Black Rabbit may cautionary tale isn’t trying teach any moral lessons purely trying entertain via pair insufferable brothers make each other worse.
That element mutual assured destruction set within restaurant makes new Netflix series feel much closerThe Bear .