In the “Rabbit Hole” finale, which premieres Sunday, May 7 on Paramount+, Kiefer Sutherland’s corporate espionage expert goes up against a shadowy criminal mastermind named John Weir Crowley, whom two Supreme Court justices “own” It is said. If the plot sounds oddly familiar, a quick look at current events will tell you why, as in real life Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas‘ The extravagant airs of well-heeled Republican donor Harlan Crow continues to make headlines.
This isn’t the first time that the plot of a Kiefer Sutherland series reflected current events: Before the WGA strike took effect, TheWrap spoke with the actor and producer about how he’d venture into the same territory as his iconic ’00s series “24.” returned as. — and whether he and “Rabbit Hole” co-creators Glenn Ficara and John Ricqua want to come back for more. [SPOILERS for the Season 1 finale below],
Could the events of “Rabbit Hole” reveal at another point in time that someone has essentially bought two Supreme Court justices?
(Laughs) You know, there was an incident with “24,” which happened to be a real incident in the news, which makes our show surprisingly relevant considering we made it almost a year ago. Was. No one had any idea of the horrific incident of 9/11. And it was just bad luck on our part that we had to deal with a hijacking of a plane and a terrorist bombing [in Season 1] And they will be so closely related.
The biggest threat in America for our second season was white nationalists. And the third season was Russia, and the fourth season was China. I spoke [“24” executive producer Howard Gordon] About it when we were having beers one day, and I asked, “Are you fishing for that kind of stuff?” He said, “No, all I do is I read the newspaper and then I try to imagine the worst thing that could happen and I write about it. And then it just keeps happening. We Just going through a decade where we keep imagining the worst thing that is going to happen and then it does.
It does make for good TV though.
It does and it makes for current television. We want to be less relevant and better things are happening in the world.
For better or worse, we live in a world where it is very difficult to differentiate between what is actually happening and what someone is saying. The amount of commentary that surrounds all the daily events that occur is extraordinary. So it is very easy for a character like John Weir to manipulate situations to his advantage and John and Glenn use this as a jumping off point.
The ending left it open for a potential second season. are you planning on that?
we are. We are planning on it because we are optimistic people. If this were a network show, at least based on my experience of almost 20 years doing network shows, we would know for sure whether we were not going. But the world is different with streaming services. They get their data differently. They make their decisions based on a lot of different criteria.
So we are waiting, but we know that the show has done well. I can feel that walking on the road; People come, they are engaged in the show and they talk to me about it. And trust me, I’ve done enough over the years where you put something out and all you hear is cricket. This is not that experience. That’s why I am very happy about it.
I definitely hope we’re going to make a second season, because I really love the characters.
I loved your scene with Peter Weller playing Crowley. Or, at least a Crowley. How did you get him on board?
Peter and I got to work together on “24,” and I’ve been a huge fan of his forever. I’m laughing, because he had eight pages of incredible explanation. Friends don’t usually do this to each other. I am very grateful to him.
We were shooting outside a huge courthouse… I don’t know if you’ve been to Toronto recently, but Toronto is the noisiest city on the planet: 50% of it is under construction and the other 50% is partying . Between the music, the wine and the storks, it was a loud night. And Peter Weller was such a trooper, and he burned through that dialogue like a champ. And he made a scene that was largely explanatory incredibly moving. And enjoyable to watch.
We had to shoot till six in the morning and we left by three. As Peter ages, and I’m older, it’s nice when you get a chance to go in and get it right, because we all look at young people, and say, “Look, we still miss some things.” can do. “
Veer wins the fight, at least for now, but he couldn’t have done it without the help of Hailey (Meta Golding), her father (Charles Dance) and Hom (Rob Yang).
The thing I enjoyed most is that with all the characters, and John Weir in particular, he didn’t trust anyone. He never wanted to be dependent on anyone else, because that made you weak. He always wanted to have complete control of the narrative, at all costs, no matter what. And as those things started to get dangerous and he was not in control of the situation, he had to rely on a few people to get him from point A to point B.
He’s definitely a questionable character and I think he naturally becomes a better character in the end. And it was really subtle, and I love what John and Glenn did with that.
Have you and the showrunners talked about what a second season would be like?
This is pure speculation, but I don’t see [John Weir] Gone are the days, as corporate espionage went back to the boutique business. There was something very gratifying about doing something that mattered for the better of the world, that was better for him. I think [he] going in a direction where he can use his skill set for some good cause,
I think this experience changed him dynamically, because you can’t forget that the team he had for so many years all died as a result. There was a real cost. And I think we haven’t even begun to see what that price has done to him. And I don’t think he’s been able to process that as a character yet.
The final “Rabbit Hole” episode of Season 1, “Ace in the Hole,” is now streaming on Paramount+.
