Info in Movie News | To build out its crime-drama portfolio, Netflix has added Black Rabbit, an entirely fresh limited series to its roster, with Jason Bateman and Jude Law as its stars. The series will be available from September 18, 2025, and it is the first time that these two superstars have shared a stage within such a fascinating story that unfolds under the amazing but dangerous environment of New York City nightlife.
According to The New York Times, the show is about Jake Friedkin, a character played by Jude Law, who is a restaurant owner with a lot of charm running Black Rabbit, a restaurant, and a VIP lounge with a potential to become the hottest place in Manhattan. However, the pretty palace heʼs made starts to fall apart when his troubled, younger brother Vince, a character played by Jason Bateman, steps back into his world, bringing with him past problems, new threats, and old grievances.
On its deepest level, Black Rabbit is a play of the relationships between siblings, family ties, the tests of treachery, loyalty, and ambition. While Jake is the responsible one who has put a lot of effort into their shared business venture, Vince is the wild brother whose poor choices suck them both into the mire of the underworld. The brothers’ awkward homecoming is the ignition to a cascading sequence of happenings that might wipe out all they had and even their fraternity forever. Moreover, talking about the first two episodes, Jason Bateman, who also directed them, referred to it as a gripping and very human work. Asked by Netflix Tudum how it was really about two brothers who loved each other yet were so different, he answered that he, being a person with a sibling or a friend who is always exciting him but getting him into trouble, was that the relationship Black Rabbit was building upon. For sure, Jude Law was the one to weigh in, and he talked about the attraction of the matter in the love and volatility of their connection. He added that it was something amazing for him to see how relatives could be so close to each other and still have a point when the relationship breaks. In the movie "Law", the world of "Black Rabbit" is quite an intriguing place, but really it is the relationship between Jake and Vince that keeps the whole thing going.
In addition to the excellently portrayed characters of Law and Bateman, the series has an impressive supporting cast that really enriches the story with the depth of their acting. The main cast is Cleopatra Coleman of Rebel Moon, Amaka Okafor of Bodies, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù of Gangs of London, Troy Kotsur from CODA and Odessa Young from The Staircase. Abbey Lee, Chris Coy, Dagmara Dominczyk, Robin De Jesús, Amir Malaklou, Don Harvey and Gus Birney are among the additional cast members who not only give an array of diverse characters in the metropolis of New York’s vibrant social life but also help to deepen the show’s intention of being a vivid, dangerous city.
Black Rabbit was created by the same team as Zach Baylin who got the Oscar nomination for his script King Richard and Kate Susman. The couple created the series with the concept of a restaurant as a representation of city life, a place where the ultra-rich, the down and out, and the dangerous co-exist. To them, the idea of one place being the lifeblood of the city was just the right setting to depict the themes of power, ambition, and the ties that bind or break families. Production is backed by heavyweight companies including Bateman’s Aggregate Movies, Jude Law’s Riff Raff Entertainment, and Youngblood Pictures. Bateman is directing the opening episodes, while his Ozark co-star Laura Linney has taken over the camera for episodes 3 and 4. Ben Semanoff who is famous for Yellowjackets has been chosen for episodes 5 and 6 and Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel, the director of Macbeth, finishes the series with episodes 7 and 8. Such a combination of directors links together the main people who were involved in previous successful projects, thereby promising a refined and cinematic journey.
Linney said that directing Black Rabbit had been the very opposite of her previous experiences and it was nice for her to meet the actors one by one in different, more intimate settings, where they were all a bit more relaxed with their characters than on the big stage. She added that she was fascinated by the way the different artists revealed their talent depending on the manner of the director and that the whole process was really uplifting. The project is very much a collaboration on all fronts and we hear from Bateman and Law that it is an atmosphere conducive to them really getting into complex characters and making bold narrative choices.
One of the last events before being exposed to the general public, Black Rabbit was the main attraction at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2025, and so had its world premiere. The presentation made a big buzz among the critics, and the series was very shortly rewarded an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers were very positive about the gripping storytelling, the great chemistry between Bateman and Law, and the show’s clever blending of crime-thriller suspense with the intimate side of character drama. To a great extent it felt like a perfect follow-up to Bateman’s work on Ozark, only in this case Jude Law’s uninhibited charm was an added factor.
The series blends elements of family drama, psychological thriller, and crime saga. The fact that it is located in the high-pressure world of New York nightlife adds to the charm and coarseness of the story, while the main conflict between Jake and Vince gives it an emotional depth. Character-driven crime series brought Netflix a success in the past like Ozark and Narcos and Black Rabbit seems to be ready to keep this trend going. The show for the viewers is a tempting combination, the thrill of the underworld stories, the familiarity of sibling rivalry, and the excellence of two actors performing at the highest level of their ability. Yeah, with Bateman steering the ship and Law taking the lead in an authoritative way, Black Rabbit is both star-studded and creatively strong.
On September 18, 2025, fans of Law and Bateman, as well as the general public, will be able to experience Black Rabbit on Netflix. The series is waiting there among the platform’s talls, if not the tallest, impacted by the early festival reception and the excitement of the two actors’ fan base. So if you are looking for a hard-boiled new tale full of suspense, family quarrels, and risky decisions, it may be the moment to enter the gates of Black Rabbit.
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