Netflix‘s Black Rabbit has divided critics as they complained that the ‘miserable and undercooked’  TV series made it ‘impossible to care about Jude Law and Jason Bateman‘.

The American crime thriller, created by Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, hit the  streaming service on Thursday (18 September 2025).

It stars the likes of Jude Law, Jason Bateman, Cleopatra Coleman, Sope Dirisu, Amaka Okafor and Troy Kotsur.

Netflix’s synopsis reads: ‘A rising-star restaurateur is forced into New York’s criminal underworld when his chaotic brother returns to town with loan sharks on his trail.’

It follows the story of a VIP lounge owner called Jake Friedken, who has to try and get himself out of trouble due to his brother Vince’s decisions.

Although the eight-part series has only been out for a number of hours, a number of writers have already watched the show and given their thoughts on the new series.

The Guardian‘s Lucy Mangan gave the show three stars and confessed: ‘It’s almost impossible to care about Jude Law and Jason Bateman in this TV misery.’

She adds: ‘You can see throughout what Black Rabbit is aiming for – a study of loyalty, of fraternity, of how love can warp under the pressure of family secrets, made palatable by the charisma of Law (however miscast the innately suave actor may be as a hustling Coney Island boy-made-Manhattan-good), and the depiction of the seamy line he’s walking towards what he hopes will be the legitimate big time.

‘But it’s too busy, trying to do too much, and loses the sharp focus it needs to bring us along for what is almost – but not quite – a great ride.’

The Mirror‘s Peter Harris writes: ‘The show is somehow dropping at the ideal time of the year with the evenings slowly creeping in. As it’s just so dark, literally, viewers will need to block off all light sources nearby in order to see what on earth is going on.

‘Then there is the need for patience. Black Rabbit seems to define the term ‘slow burn thriller’.

‘It has been a trend lately for some limited series to drip feed plot points at a trickle. But some will find Black Rabbit’s tend to shuffle along tiresome. I fully expect many will give up entirely and just look up spoilers.

‘If you’re wondering, it’s around episode 4 when it feels like the gears are shifted up. Unfortunately, you can probably guess what comes next.

‘There are plenty of twists and turns across the eight episodes but I saw all of if not the vast majority of them coming. Not all of them were satisfactory when they did arrive.

‘There are plenty of twists and turns across the eight episodes but I saw all of if not the vast majority of them coming. Not all of them were satisfactory when they did arrive.’

Mashable‘s Belen Edwards writes: ‘It’s fitting that the title of Netflix’s miniseries Black Rabbit conjures up a dark twist on Alice in Wonderland.

‘Like Alice’s harried guide into Wonderland, Black Rabbit serves as a gateway to a hidden world itself, although it’s not one that anyone would describe as wonderful.

‘Instead, the series invites viewers deep into the seedy underbelly of New York, where you’ll find more criminals than you will Cheshire Cats or Mad Hatters.

‘Still, the way sees it, anyone who enters this world must be a little mad — especially brothers Jake and Vince Friedken (Jude Law and Jason Bateman).

‘The pair are experts at digging costly holes for themselves, and follows their increasingly desperate attempts to climb out of their mistakes.

‘But what should be a propulsive crime thriller never quite gels, and that starts with Black Rabbit’s aggravating structure.’

The Times‘ Tim Glanfield writes: ‘Set in contemporary New York, the gritty story of “brothers in a bother” throws you straight in at the deep end with an action-packed cliffhanger before rewinding a month as you catch your breath.

‘It’s a daring tactic as we think we know where we’re going, but before long you’re enjoying the ride so much you’re happy to put the lack of jeopardy to one side.’

Financial Times‘ Rebecca Nicholson writes: ‘Black Rabbit has a flair for noir and sleaze. Its nightlife scenes have a timeless quality; at the beginning it is hard to tell whether it is set in the present day at all.

‘But elsewhere, it is more of its era. The brothers were once in a successful indie band, which means viewers get to see the spectacle of Bateman on drums and Law in a blond wig, pretending to be rock stars.

‘For all of the splashy drug-centred capers, gambling upsets and gunfights, there is an underlying melancholy, a sense of maudlin reflection from the vantage point of middle age on squandered potential.

‘It is impossible to deny its ability to ratchet up the stress, but in order for those screw-turns to be truly effective, the viewer has to have some desire to root for the rogues.

‘Black Rabbit doesn’t quite make enough of a case for the Friedkin brothers to deserve it.’

AV Club‘s Saloni Gajjar writes that Jude and Jason are ‘trapped in Netflix’s undercooked Black Rabbit’.

She adds: ‘But Bateman and Law do make for a believable brotherly act, and the show comes alive when Vince and Jake hurl curses at each other, share poignant conversations about their mommy and daddy issues, and are chased all over town by their vengeance-seeking enemies.

‘Their performances are the reason to soldier through an otherwise boring narrative. Sporting unkempt facial hair, Bateman’s take on Vince is always expressive and enjoyable, and he’s clearly having fun spouting off lines like “I’m a cancer and a one-man pandemic.”

‘And Law (his wishy-washy accent notwithstanding) sells Jake’s smarminess and swagger. (Jake wants to purchase a popular Midtown bar next with no cash to his name, but he manages to fool enough people to secure backing anyway.)

‘The actors convincingly shift from annoying to vulnerable and back again, adding nuance to scripts that don’t have much of it.’

The Telegraph‘s Anita Singh says: ‘Jude Law is fine in Black Rabbit but Jason Bateman is the real star.’

She adds: ‘If you’re looking for a more sophisticated alternative to the current glut of unhinged dramas – The Girlfriend, The Guest, Coldwater, all of which feature bonkers behaviour – then try Black Rabbit ( Netflix).

‘It stars Jude Law and Jason Bateman as a restaurateur and his disaster-area of a brother, and what at first could be mistaken for a knock-off of The Bear slowly becomes a salty crime saga in which the pair get into increasingly dire straits.’

The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg writes: ‘There are parts of Black Rabbit that I appreciated, from a ground-level New York City vitality to a searing supporting performance from Troy Kotsur to a two-episode conclusion that’s effectively tense, right up until a soggy ending that left me convinced the series has no awareness that its main characters aren’t antiheroes, they just suck in very conventionally clichéd ways.

‘Black Rabbit begins in medias res with an audacious jewelry robbery at a loud, underlit bash at the Manhattan eatery adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge that gives the show its name.

‘We’re introduced to owner Jake (Jude Law), genius chef Roxie (Amaka Okafor), well-dressed investor Wes (Sope Dirisu) and a few other background figures from the restaurant. Then the robbery goes bad, as such robberies often do.’

Stream Black Rabbit on Netflix now.