Is Black Rabbit inspired by real events? Details from the Netflix series, explored

Black Rabbit takes you on a ride into a version of New York that feels almost too real. The absolute chaos that comes from a family drama, the nightlife, and the criminal world all make it seem like the show could have been pulled straight out of newspaper headlines.

But here's the truth: Black Rabbit is not a true story. It's fiction created by Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, and although it does lean heavily on experiences and pieces of New York nightlife that really did exist, the Netflix series is as fictional as it can be.

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How Black Rabbit blends fiction with the grit of New York

Right in the middle of Black Rabbit are two brothers, Jake and Vince Friedken, played by Jude Law and Jason Bateman. On the surface, Jake runs a thriving restaurant while Vince brings trouble back into his life. Their brotherly push-and-pull feels so authentic that you almost believe the story is based from a real family.

But the characters are not based on real-life people, and they're born out of Baylin and Susman's desire to explore sibling dynamics and relationships. Susman told Netflix Tudum:

"We both have siblings, and we're interested in exploring the idea that you're kind of one person with your sibling and another with someone else in the world."

Jason Bateman also described the brothers' bond, saying;

"It's really about two brothers who love each other but don't match — one's a screw-up, and the other is better at hiding his dysfunction."

He pointed out that anyone who has a sibling or a close friend can understand that mix of love and frustration.

But while the characters are made up, the city they move through is very much real. Black Rabbit captures New York's underbelly, i.e., not the beautiful skylines but a much more rugged and lived-in, weared-out city. From Coney Island to East Village bathhouses, the Netflix show plants its story in spaces the creators themselves knew when they lived in New York.

That's what makes the fiction feel so believable: the show puts together real neighborhoods, real nightlife energy, and a very human family dynamic into a story that could almost pass as being real life.

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Inspirations drawn from New York’s restaurant culture

The restaurant in Black Rabbit is fictional too, but its design and spirit come directly from the city's dining scene. Susman admitted the spot wasn't based on one specific place but rather;

"...Bits and pieces of the places we were inhabiting in our 20s and 30s."

Together with Baylin, she drew from the gritty charm of places like Minetta Tavern and The Spotted Pig - with the latter making headlines in real life for its downfall after harassment scandals.

Production designer Alex DiGerlando revealed how they even borrowed from historic architecture. The building chosen at 279 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, which was once a saloon called The Hole in the Wall, also became part of Black Rabbit's DNA.

DiGerlando said;

"We lifted a lot of details directly from that architecture - things like the carved wood banister, the peeling wallpaper, the chipping brick."

That attention to detail gave the restaurant such an authentic look that Jude Law admitted:

"I found it very hard to believe this place doesn't really exist."

So while fans can't actually have a New York-style pizza at the restaurant or have a drink at the bar in Black Rabbit, the show does make it feel like it is a place you could walk into on a late-night walk in the city. And that's precisely the point and creative direction that the creators were going for. They wanted to build a restaurant that looked alive, and messy, and a place that could be so filled up with secrets just like the world around it, and it's a safe bet to say that the creators did succeed.

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Black Rabbit may not be based on actual events about two brothers, or the restaurant might not even actually exist on a real-life map, but the realness comes from the lived experiences and memories shared by the creators of the show.

By stitching together real New York places, hints of infamous restaurants around the city, and spending time exploring universal sibling dynamics, the show blurs the line between what is reality and what is fiction.

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Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.

Also read: Episode 2 recap: Anna’s claim threatens to change how everyone sees the restaurant