Philip Barantini’s “Adolescence” was a streaming sensation on Netflix. The show received widespread critical acclaim and now sits in fourth place on Netflix’s Most Popular English-Language TV list.
The four-episode series followed a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a classmate. The story explored the crime from multiple angles: the boy’s family, his therapist, and the detectives in charge. Each episode was shot as one long continuous take. Ambitious stuff, but it consistently kept viewers glued to their seats.
So what would Barantini tackle next? That’s what many wanted to know. Today, we got our answer.
Netflix has picked up “Rabbit, Rabbit,” a hostage crime drama inspired by “Dog Day Afternoon.” The project drew major interest from multiple streamers, but Netflix won the rights and has given it a straight-to-series order. Production could begin as early as next year.
Adam Driver has signed on for the lead role. This will mark his return to TV since the final season of HBO’s “Girls” ended in 2017. He’s primarily a film actor, having worked with some of the top directors in the industry—an indication of just how hot Barantini is right now.
“Rabbit, Rabbit,” set at a truck stop in southern Illinois, follows an escaped convict cornered by law enforcement who takes hostages in an attempt to bargain for his freedom. The standoff, however, soon escalates into an unmanageable social experiment with his captives, as well as an emotional poker match with a veteran FBI Crisis Negotiator trained in “tactical empathy.”
The script was written and created by Peter Craig (“The Batman,” “Top Gun: Maverick”). There’s no word yet on whether Barantini will return to the same one-shot style he employed in “Adolescence.”
As for Driver, didn’t he recently say he was going to take a break from acting? Doesn’t look like it. We can add this latest project to the growing pile he’s currently amassing, which includes upcoming films from Leos Carax, Michael Mann, Ron Howard, James Gray, and even Chris Rock.
Alright, let’s settle this once and for all. What’s the best Bond movie? While we wait for the next actor to be cast, let’s do what Bond fans have been doing for six decades: argue about which one is actually the best.