Rabbit Hole

Unlike 24, where all the stupid stuff happened because that show chewed up ideas like a threshing machine – Rabbit Hole seems to be doing all this purely for fun. There is an unmistakeable lightness here amid all the disaster.

A dense conspiracy thriller that manages to find humor in its patchwork of illusion. ... Making a welcome return to save-the-world TV, 24's Kiefer Sutherland broods antiheroically. [27 Mar - 9 Apr 2023, p.4]

With all of the twists and reveals in “Rabbit Hole,” these guys have set an awful hard pace for themselves for the remaining episodes, and it could be a challenge to keep the story’s momentum. ... For now though, it’s worth enjoying the ride.

Rabbit Hole’s efficacy comes down to a mastery of essential components: A sharp script, focused execution, and a well-picked cast led by Sutherland’s commanding and charismatic protagonist.

“Rabbit Hole” is one of those shows where nobody is being completely honest with one another and when someone says, “Can I trust you?,” you wonder why they bother asking. Of course no one can be trusted! That’s part of the fun.

It’s more polished and more complicated than the typical entry, and crucially, it’s funnier, with a sense of humor that ranges from reasonably subtle verbal and visual jokes to outright slapstick. Weir is solidly inside Kiefer Sutherland’s somewhat limited wheelhouse.

It's not a program that veers very far stylistically from a typical network series (one on CBS, say), but it is certainly more adult, as well as more unsettling.

It has to keep light on its feet, but, if you stop to think about it for a moment, its shortcomings may become too much to overlook. If Rabbit Hole can maintain the balance between its silly thrills and a no-frills story, its goofy pleasures have the potential to only grow more fun.

It’s more of an “enjoy as you go” thrill ride. The four main performances are terrific.

There’s fun to be had in watching him [John Weir] miraculously evade capture. ... Because most of us are programmed to find the ranting paranoia of conspiracy theorists dull, Dance has his work cut out. It’s all you can do to prop open your eyelids with matchsticks as he sings another of his yaddering arias about “the algorithms of control”.

That lighter touch the writers take with Hailey draws more humor out of Sutherland’s Weir. ... That may not be enough to recommend “Rabbit Hole,” which is largely a generic conspiracy thriller, but it’s at least a differentiator.

The series is ineffective as a ’70s thriller and misguided as an attempt to cover the same terrain as shows like Billions and Mr. Robot. But as a Coen Brothers knockoff, complete with one blatant Fargo nod and tonal similarities to Burn After Reading, it’s OK, especially in the third and fourth episodes. The show’s improvement can be tied directly to the late arrival of Charles Dance.

"Rabbit Hole" is ultimately for the hardcore Kiefer Sutherland fans only, who can forgive the inane plotting to get a hit of that Jack Bauer thrill back again. Going down this “Rabbit Hole” only made me want to watch “24” again. Heck, maybe even “Designated Survivor.”

If the series wasn’t so brazenly reminiscent of better spy offerings — or if it showed a bit more pizzazz in playing off the old hits — its eight-episode first season could be a worthy investment.