Jason Bateman is one of those actors who’s managed to carve out not only a long career, but a versatile one at that. He started as a child actor on television shows like Little House on the Prairie and The Hogan Family, and then shifted to comedy as Michael Bluth in the sitcom Arrested Development (a role that landed him two Emmy nominations). After starring in a number of comedy films (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief), Bateman has now proved how diverse his roles can be with the Netflix crime thriller, Black Rabbit, which premiered on September 18.
Even before he played Vince Friedken alongside Jude Law, the 14-time Emmy-nominated actor won plenty of new fans in his complex role as Marty Byrde in another prestige Netflix drama. Ozark, which aired from 2017 to 2022, is still one of the best examples of Bateman’s immense talent, and it just so happens to star some equally impressive actors, the likes of whom have starred in an MCU movie as well as HBO’s new hit series Task.
What Is ‘Ozark’ About?
When Ozark starts, Marty Byrde and his wife, Wendy (Laura Linney), seem to be your average married couple with two teenage children. But in a shocking twist, Marty discovers that his business partner has been skimming money from a Mexican drug cartel. The head of the cartel, Camino Del Rio (Esai Morales), lets Marty move his family to the Lake of the Ozarks so that he can launder enough money to pay back the debt. If Marty can pull this off, he can protect his family and save his own skin, but it’s hard to believe that the cartel would ever just let him walk away after this (which sets up a throughline of an incredible threat to the Byrde family). Aside from the cartel, the Byrdes’ new town has its own criminal element, and the more they try to extricate themselves from danger, the more they fall deeper into a criminal underworld.
We also meet one of the most iconic characters to come to our screens in recent years: Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner), the daughter of a man who runs a local petty crime ring in the Lake of the Ozarks. Ruth tries to exist in her dysfunctional family, but she’s way too smart to merely carry out the simple crimes her family has always turned to. Throughout the first season, Ruth becomes more intertwined with Marty and his family, as she sees opportunities to create a better life for herself. Ozark is full of morally grey characters, just like Black Rabbit, and each episode proves that there’s no one you can really trust to be a good person. Throughout its four seasons, the series provides terrifying violence at every turn — Ozark is definitely not for the squeamish. However, if you enjoy shows that continue to place their characters in impossible situations, you’ll find plenty of suspense and lots of jaw-dropping twists in this drama.
Jason Bateman Is a Grounding Force in ‘Ozark’
Marty’s character is one of the most fascinating in the series because he’s constantly finding himself to be a fish out of water. He doesn’t know how to deal with cartel leaders or with locals who don’t really appreciate an outsider moving into their town. Bateman perfectly nails Marty’s abject frustration, especially when it’s directed at Wendy, who ultimately seems to quite enjoy the life of a criminal. Because of Bateman’s comedy background, there are perfect comedic beats that the actor completely pulls off in every episode. This quiet comic relief is absolutely necessary in a show that is otherwise extremely dark.
Bateman is the best casting choice for Marty because he feels like a man we all know. He’s affable, but also bewildered by how wildly out of control his life has become. Although most of us have probably not found ourselves laundering money for a cartel, the mystified-by-the-world attitude is something we can all relate to, and Bateman plays this to perfection. He’s the grounding force as the protagonist, and the show wouldn’t have worked without his steady presence. He snagged an Emmy nomination every season, but surprisingly never won.
‘Ozark’ Comes Alive With Electric Performances From the Supporting Cast
It’s no surprise that Linney turns in an incredible performance as Wendy. Her character morphs the most throughout the series, and it’s her brisk energy and sometimes sociopathic personality that are so fascinating to watch. She drives much of the action of the series, and in a bizarre way, even though Wendy’s behavior is sometimes despicable, there’s still a part of us that is rooting for her — or at least can’t take our eyes off her. Just like Bateman, Linney has a lengthy and impressive career, but Ozark provided her with 44 episodes of drama that she could really sink her teeth into. Although she was nominated for three Emmys, she never took home a win, which is a travesty that Wendy would have been appalled by.
Garner is truly a revelation as Ruth. The actor nails her strong accent, her hilarious tendency to swear, and her innate desperation to survive. There’s a toughness to Ruth that Garner is able to play effectively, but beneath her bluster, there’s also a deep vulnerability that Garner conveys that makes us fall in love with Ruth. Garner might now be known to a wider audience as playing Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer in the MCU movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but her role in Ozark put her on the map and netted her three Emmy wins. There’s also another actor who used Ozark as his breakout role: Tom Pelphrey, who’s now starring as Robbie Prendergrast in HBO’s Task, plays Wendy’s tragic brother, who pops up in Season 3. Ben Davis has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but as a man with real vulnerabilities, he’s merely a liability to Wendy. Pelphrey doesn’t have as much screentime as some of the other supporting cast, but his performance is imbued with heartbreak and deep sadness. It’s no surprise that he nabbed an Emmy nomination for his role in 2022.
The show received critical acclaim while it was airing, and managed to net an impressive 45 Emmy nominations total. The series won four Emmys, which included Garner’s wins and an Outstanding Directing award for Bateman himself in 2019. With its thrilling storylines and incredible performances, Ozark is the perfect companion show to watch with Black Rabbit — or just to catch some of these actors at their very finest.
Ozark is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
- Release Date
-
2017 – 2022
- Network
-
Netflix
- Showrunner
-
Chris Mundy
- Directors
-
Alik Sakharov, Andrew Bernstein, Amanda Marsalis, Benjamin Semanoff, Daniel Sackheim, Ellen Kuras, Phil Abraham, Robin Wright, Cherien Dabis, Laura Linney
- Writers
-
Ning Zhou, Alyson Feltes, David Manson, Whit Anderson
