C&C 13: Rabbit Hole and Reading Recs

Plus my latest go-to cocktail

I’m publishing this lightly-revised May 2023 post from my blog here because there STILL aren’t enough people talking about this show.

I waited until all eight episodes of the first (only?) season of Rabbit Hole (Paramount+) dropped to make sure it stuck the landing. It did, so now I can say this Kiefer Sutherland series is the best thing I’ve seen on TV in a while, and stronger than any thriller novel I’ve read recently.

And I won’t tell you why.

Doing so would spoil the fun. More than one episode of Rabbit Hole ended with a reveal that had me saying “What the fuck?” aloud to my TV. But every twist feels organic, thanks to the show’s devilishly intricate structure and to its premise. Sutherland’s John Weir specializes in shaping perceptions to aid his corporate clients, his tactics and slippery morals perfectly illustrated in the extended sequence that opens the premiere episode; right off the bat, you’re advised not to trust what you see. An old friend hires Weir and his team for a job that ends with Weir framed for murder. Where the show goes from there is … well, you’ll have to watch for yourself.

Rabbit Hole is consistently funny, which shouldn’t have surprised me considering it’s the brainchild of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Bad Santa). They write beautifully for Sutherland, wringing laughs out of his gruff persona. The show’s sensibility and Weir’s character are established in this early exchange between Weir and the FBI agent determined to take him down.

FBI Agent: Corporate espionage is a dirty way to get rich.

Weir: Espionage? What are you talking about? I’m not a spy.

FBI Agent: Manipulating people and situations to influence markets for client advantage is … what, then?

Weir: Consulting.

A sequence in which Weir, the target of a city-wide manhunt, strolls into a New York police station to see the “evidence” against him is a marvel of low-tech deception and social engineering. And a running gag involving Kiefer and hammers got me every time.

But the show also succeeds as a thriller, tackling thorny topical subject matter in a manner that consistently raises the stakes. The supporting cast is richly idiosyncratic, and when the actor playing the show’s Big Bad finally showed their face, I was ecstatic. (And even that reveal has a reveal.) If the show doesn’t return—Sutherland, in an interview, sounded skeptical as well as frustrated by the lack of transparency surrounding streaming series—its sole season goes into the books a winner, ending on a perfect note of 1970s-style paranoia.

Sutherland is winning praise for his performance as Lieutenant Commander Queeg in William Friedkin’s final film, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, so he’s having a hell of a year. Paramount+ may be primarily known for Yellowstone and Star Trek spinoffs, but it’s also the home of The Offer, the limited series about the making of The Godfather that was my favorite show of 2022, as well as the bonkers Catholic version of The X-Files better known as Evil. That’s a solid batting average for a streaming service.

What I’m Reading

Keri Blakinger’s story for the New York Times Magazine and The Marshall Project on the Dungeons & Dragons players of Texas’s death row is extraordinary.

For the Washington Post, Travis M. Andrews talks to legendary writer/producer Tom Fontana (Homicide: Life on the Street, Oz) about what’s at stake in the ongoing WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes. Given my recent adventures, I found this scene from the New York picket lines amusing.

I loved Daniel Fienberg’s appreciation of the “sick” day magic of The Price is Right for the Hollywood Reporter.

What I’m Drinking

Speaking of rabbit holes, I have dropped down one lately with the Milano-Torino. This simple combination of Campari (made in Milan) and vermouth (traditionally one from Torino, although feel free to experiment) has become my low-octane libation of choice. Think of it as a gin-less Negroni, or a whiskey-free Boulevardier.

The Milano-Torino

• 1 ½ oz. Campari

• 1 ½ oz. vermouth di Torino

Stir. Strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange slice.