Victorian London, 1887: Detective Inspector Rabbit, a gin-soaked relic who drops dead for seconds when his heart stalls, is lumbered with zealous rookie Detective Sergeant Wilbur Strauss. Their first case drags in Susan Wokoma’s Mabel Wisbech, the lewd, sharp-tongued adopted daughter of Alun Armstrong’s station chief, who blackmails her way into becoming Britain’s first female police officer.
The six-part run throws the trio against music-hall poisoners, Bulgarian royals, crooked councillors, spiritualist frauds and David Dawson’s scene-stealing Elephant Man, all filtered through the swaggering baritone of Matt Berry, who treats every deduction like a theatrical soliloquy and every punch-up like a music-hall turn.
The tone is unapologetically anachronistic, swapping foggy grit for filthy one-liners, slow-motion bar brawls and sudden musical numbers, while Channel 4’s tight 25-minute slots keep the gags sprinting. Although IFC boarded as US co-producer, the show premiered solely on Channel 4 from 10 June to 15 July 2019; no second series was commissioned, leaving Rabbit forever frozen mid-swig, heart stopped, punch-line hanging.
Production Details
Channel 4 / 1 Season / 6 Episodes / 2019 - Present
Created by: Kevin Cecil Andy Riley
Showrunner(s): Toby Stevens, Matt Berry, Ben Farrell
Writer(s): Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley
Producer(s): Hannah Mackay
Music: Matt Berry
Main Cast
Matt Berry as Detective Inspector Rabbit
Freddie Fox as Detective Sergeant Wilbur Strauss
Susan Wokoma as Mabel Wisbech
Alun Armstrong as Chief Inspector Hugh Wisbech
Paul Kaye as Detective Inspector Tanner
Ann Mitchell as Gwen
Keeley Hawes as Lydia
David Dawson as Joseph Merrick, The Elephant Man
Amar Chadha-Patel as Sgt Keith Carnival
David Webber as Newspaper Vendor
Alan Peat as Policeman
Jill Halfpenny as Flora Wilson
