Is <em>Black Rabbit</em> Coming Back for Season 2?

As the old saying goes, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. That's what I felt Netflix's Black Rabbit was saying to me as I watched its series finale, knowing that I'll never have another stressful, sweaty hang with Vince (Jason Bateman) and Jake Friedken (Jude Law).

Yes, folks, I wrote series finale—because Black Rabbit is indeed a miniseries. We'll most likely never see a second season. It's a little surprising, because the setup damn near calls for a five-season run: Vince is a hotshot New York City restaurateur in charge of Black Rabbit, a trendy (and, it turns out, seedy) spot under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Things go to shit when Vince, his deadbeat brother, reenters the picture—and things really go to shit when we learn he's in debt to an outfit of loan sharks led by the ruthless Joe Mancuso (Troy Kotsur). Cue all sorts of coke blowing, high-stakes card playing, and the Bateman–Law duo bickering to oblivion. It's fun. It's great. But it's over. On top of all that—I won't spoil it here—Black Rabbit's ending leaves very little room for the continuing adventures of the Friedken brothers.

"On set, we all knew it was ending," series cocreator Kate Susman told me in an interview tied to last week's series premiere. "Everyone felt like it was very precious and a closed box. It was a story that had a beginning and an end, and everyone was there to serve this tight but closed story."

"We were all like, Is there any way to continue this afterwards?" added the other half of Black Rabbit's creative team, Zach Baylin. "But everyone stuck to their guns and just wanted to make sure that this story was told in the best way. ... On one of the last days, we tore the restaurant down that we had built, and it was—it was pretty heartbreaking. Because you're like, Okay, this experience—this story—really, it's over."

Heartbreaking indeed. Though I will say: I pitched Susman and Baylin on a second season following Roxie (Amaka Okafor), where trouble continues to follow the star chef in her next endeavor. They didn't hate the idea! Netflix, let's make it happen. It would be a shame if Black Rabbit's doors are closed forever.