Rabbit Hole

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.

TV has been a source of comfort for well over half a century now. Some people watch sitcoms to ease out of a troubled day, others watch reality shows for ...

Granted, there is a lot less gunplay and torture in this show, but it still has plenty of Keifer Sutherland f***ing people up, and that brings me nothing but joy. Like in that show, there clearly seems to be a mole amongst his allies and a shadowy organization that's chasing him, with plot twist after plot twist. Granted, it is not the same as Sutherland shooting bad guys, infiltrating embassies, and shouting "Who is the mole!?!?!" In a way, it was the closest TV ever got to a proper gritty Batman show, in that Sutherland played an extremely tortured guy who did questionable things because he felt only he could get things done, but who also is rather caring and compassionate. Sure, Jack Bauer was a war criminal, and Sutherland did a wonderful job portraying the character as a tough and scary guy who could easily mess you up. But there is something about Kiefer Sutherland f***ing people up in particular that is mesmerizing.