Rabbit Hole

Paramount+ invites you to fall down a "Rabbit Hole" with Kiefer Sutherland. Will you follow TV's erstwhile Jack Bauer on this twisty journey?

John slips away/evades a mounted cop, only to later arrive outside his loft building just in time to see the top floors explode in a ball of fire, with at least two of his associates inside. Valence asks John to do the thing he does, on a job that requires an extra level of discretion, before handing him an envelope with the details.](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rabbit-hole-recap-1x01-1.jpg) And there in the house’s basement, we see Treasury Department investigator Homm very much alive but bound to a chair. One of John’s associates, posing as a dog walker, uses her herd of pups to nudge the CEO closer to Homm, while another discreetly drops an envelope at Homm’s feet. Then, as John grabs a cab, he grows convinced that he is being followed — a suspicion he shares with Agent Jo Madi of the FBI’s Financial Crimes Unit, an apparent longtime adversary who is waiting for him outside his destination. He barks some orders into his phone and storms off.](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rabbit-hole-1x01-1.jpg)

Rabbit Hole creators and directors Glen Ficarra and John Requa break down the two premiere episodes and that twist that sent John Weir (Kiefer Sutherland) ...

And it was just that they stumbled into it and they were completely like, "Look at what we did!" What if there was someone who actually knew what they were doing and had evil purposes that was doing this." But then as the story goes along, you realize he realizes that there's a bigger plot at play and that it could potentially be incredibly dangerous for the country and for the world. Glenn Ficarra: Seeing how Cambridge Analytica exploited this Facebook data to really discover things about people and manipulate them for relatively little money, it just makes you shudder at the thought of what could be done if somebody with the wrong intentions wanted to do something. Or reveal that the entire first episode was not what it seemed, with just one shot, with one toss of the apple, you know, completely upend the audience's expectation of what they had just seen and what's going to happen going forward. And even though they know he is a man capable of violence and a man capable of intensity. Early in his career, Kiefer played a lot of villainous or adversarial roles, then he's played his share of heroes: Jack Bauer had some decent shades of gray in him, but here you get to really play with the fact that here Weir's an unreliable narrator. And then we just kind of took that seed and ran with it. And what a great chance for you to have Kiefer Sutherland be being that guy, because they know immediately like, "Oh, we're down for something fun and we're going to go, we'd love to go do it with him," you know. You thought about writing something specifically for Kiefer before you even had conceived the concept, is that right? Tell me about the twists and turns that got you guys excited as you were baking them into the story. So it was a challenge, but it was also kind of a thrill because we didn't want it to ever be a predictive sort of formulaic, episodic show.

The one-time Jack Bauer is having the time of his life alongside Charles Dance in this high-tension conspiracy drama – and then it turns on a dime and goes ...

But this is the sort of thing that can easily be ironed out. Maybe he can tell me WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!” at what must presumably be a particularly disconcerted priest – but this is the point where the loopiness ramps up beyond all comprehension. And there’s a version of Rabbit Hole where this is all that happens. If there is one criticism of Rabbit Hole, it’s that it doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Weir is essentially a paranoid spy who knows that someone is on to him, and he spends much of the episode shooting concerned glances into his rearview mirror. Is this a coded way of saying that I wish 24 was still on TV?

You can't teach an old dog new tricks – which is just as well, because this enjoyably pulpy Kiefer Sutherland vehicle is awfully familiar.

When bodies topple from a high ledge in a splat of ketchup, the first time it’s serious; the second time it’s hilarious. 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”. Even if you call a show Rabbit Hole, there’s only so many times a plot can yank the same bunny from the hat before, like Cassandra, it won’t be believed. “They’re not the kind you want to cross.” As the plot goes through the gears, playing out in skyscrapers and safe houses, SUVs and flashbacks, there’s fun to be had in watching him miraculously evade capture. It was the fate of Cassandra to be disbelieved.

With just the first two episodes out, "Rabbit Hole" has already made an impression, and its crisp editing is helping elevate an already tight script.

When John looks at the balcony, he sees Valence get on the railing and jump to his death. At the beginning of the episode, which was set three weeks ahead of current events, John confesses to a priest that the person he used to confide in all the time is dead, and he no longer has anyone to talk to, which is why he has come to the church. Valence asks for a minute and goes onto the balcony to take a call, which is when John sees an email on his computer asking Valence to do something right then. John makes his way directly to Valence’s office and confronts him about the things happening, but Valence is just as dumbfounded as he is. John makes a run for it and barely manages to escape the building. John had paid the bartender to run the fake news clip just for the benefit of Barry Merril, and he had taken the bait. But the next morning, he accuses her of being a spy planted by Jo Madi when he finds a camera in the room, which Hailey claims to have had no knowledge of, but that doesn’t douse John’s suspicions or what he considers to be facts. He goes to meet her, and Hailey is understandably trying to avoid him. While that is not true, Luxbrant wants to prove otherwise so that they can come out of this investigation, and that is where John Weir and his team come in. He sold his stocks, even though he did not need to, and his rushed sale had caused the price of the stock to go down, only for it to be bought by KOT Capital at a profit. Making money is not just about the best opportunity but also the best deception, and that is where John Weir comes in. After John had accomplished his mission, he went to a hotel with a woman to spend the night.

Corporate espionage is the new terrorism for the "24" and "Designated Survivor" star in an intense and timely new thriller.

What I thought was really interesting — it’s a real testament to the writing skill of John and Glenn — is that you have a thriller that is dynamic enough to have the stakes being life or death. I noticed that she was doing it and I didn’t know why. It was a great lesson that I learned from her on that film. The thing that I was most interested in was having a character that was going to go from a place of real strength and confidence and do a 180-degree turn to where they were vulnerable and weak. Sometimes, it’s interesting, if it was just there for me, it helped inform me about what I wanted to do and it doesn’t matter that anybody else knows about it or sees anything. That really is a testament to their writing skill and something I was so glad to be able to be a part of, because you and I both know that no one’s knocking down my door to get me to do their next comedy. I swore once to make a point in the scene, and I could’ve found seven different words to do that as well. So it’s a fascinating thing and I’m sure there will be some investors on Wall Street that will watch this show and it might change their point of view about what to do with their money and how to protect it. I wish I was that clever, so I don’t get too exotic with my finances, but I’m certainly aware of the fact that the FDIC only protects $250,000 per account. So those were the things that I found really interesting from an acting point of view. In this case, what was important to my client was a financial entity in the market. It’s the manipulation of the truth of anything that is important to you.

Kiefer Sutherland is back in the political thriller genre with Rabbit Hole, an action-packed new series unfolding on Paramount Plus now.

For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to [The Radio Times Podcast](https://www.radiotimes.com/audio/podcasts/). [Drama](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/) coverage or visit our [TV Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/tv-listings/) and [Streaming Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/streaming-guide/) to find out what's on. [Game of Thrones](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/house-dragon-season-2-release-date/) to [The Crown](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-crown-season-6-release-date/) to Godzilla, co-stars as Dr Ben Wilson, a mysterious client of John's. [Paramount Plus](https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/1236178/175360/3065?subId1=radiotimes-1794049&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paramountplus.com%2F) now. [Succession](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/succession-season-4-release-date/)), Meta Golding (Empire), Jason Butler Harner (The Handmaid's Tale), Ishan Davé (Kim's Convenience) and Wendy Makkena (Sister Act). [terms and conditions](https://www.immediate.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/) and [privacy policy](https://policies.immediate.co.uk/privacy/). [sign up to Paramount Plus now](https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/1236178/175360/3065?subId1=radiotimes-1794049&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paramountplus.com%2F) for £6.99/month or £69.90 for a full year, and get a seven-day free trial. [learn more](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/commercial-links-on-radiotimes-com/)) [Kiefer Sutherland](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/kiefer-sutherland-rabbit-hole-interview/) fans can find the action star in an all-new series on [Paramount Plus](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/how-to-watch-paramount-plus-uk/) starting from this week. [Sutherland](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/kiefer-sutherland-radio-times-new-issue-cover/) as corporate spy John Weir, who finds himself framed for murder by a powerful, unknown entity. [Collider](https://collider.com/kiefer-sutherland-rabbit-hole-series-interview/), Sutherland spoke of how Rabbit Hole is an homage of sorts: "We were gonna kind of hearken back to these thrillers from the ‘70s, like Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View and Marathon Man. [Subscribe to Radio Times magazine and get 12 issues for £1](https://www.radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription/?utm_term=evergreen-article)

Kiefer Sutherland, best known for TV's '24' and 'Designated Survivor,' talks about his country-music career and new paranoid thriller "Rabbit Hole."

And "West Wing" is really hard to write, and Aaron Sorkin's Aaron Sorkin, and that is not a reflection on the creator of (my) show. The idea, the premise of "24" is the star, and if you've got 16 iterations of "Star Trek," how can you not have two iterations of "24"? It's going to require a monumental effort to grind out the 24 episodes required for a season. What did you think of the way that whole series played out on ABC and I really loved that character, but I thought it was going to be much more like a "West Wing"-type show. I love writing the songs and I love playing them, and it's no more than that. And then I put together a band, and And we recorded a few songs and I loved the way they sounded. So it's a question of pain management and what are you up for? He has played a fictional president in "Designated Survivor" and a real one – FDR – in last year's Showtime "The First Lady." What I didn't like with the kid, and it never happened with Jack Bauer, was waiting to get hit from behind. Is this a conspiracy against him, or am I working this conspiracy to draw other people out?

Kiefer Sutherland is back at it again in a new espionage thriller, completing his trifecta of spy action TV dramas after his successes with 24 and ...

As he’s done with pretty much every project he’s attached to (I know him of course from Game of Thrones and The Crown, but also in a much earlier, excellent TV adaptation of Phantom of the Opera, while my kids love his voice work on The Witcher 3 game), he elevates the material and frankly, is the best part of Rabbit Hole. Also funny: the web of safe houses that Weir navigates with an interesting way of achieving his stored equipment with the help of a jackhammer. John Weir is understandably suspicious of Winton (since by now he’s pretty much second-guessing everyone in his life), but Winton’s got her own surprising storyline of twists and ends up helping him out after things get a bit chaotic for her (won’t spoil the surprise). Ben Wilson not only injects the series with conspiracy information about the elements that influence and control world populations, Charles Dance enhances Rabbit Hole with his gravitas and humor in a way that fascinates as only he can. The first episode sets up the espionage surprises and is a slow burn at times, but the series really gets its sea legs as it goes on, beginning with that twist at the end of the pilot. Rabbit Hole pits Kiefer Sutherland’s John Weir (no, not Johnny Weir from figure skating fame) into a chaotic situation that turns everything we see and hears upside down as we get into the political thriller.

Sarah and Miles took a strict approach to internet use with their 13 year old daughter Ruby. And when Miles suspected she was being groomed on Pinterest, ...

Sarah and Miles took a strict approach to internet use with their 13 year old daughter Ruby. Their relationship with Ruby took a hit and she shut down. It used to be drugs and sex.

Kyle Meredith chats with Charles Dance about Rabbit Hole, the new Paramount+ series also starring Kiefer Sutherland. Listen here.

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