Apple TV+ has just added Dope Thief, an addictive new crime thriller series produced and directed in part by Ridley Scott (American Gangster, Gladiator).
Created by Peter Craig (The Batman, The Town) and based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Tafoya, the show follows Ray (Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta) and Manny (Wagner Moura, Narcos) – two cash-strapped, life-long friends and delinquents in Philadelphia.
To support themselves and their families, the pair begin posing as DEA agents and orchestrating fake raids on low-level drug dealers as a means of stealing their cash.
However, their small-time grift becomes a life-and-death enterprise when they attempt a robbery at an unknown house in the countryside and “unwittingly reveal and unravel the biggest hidden narcotics corridor on the Eastern Seaboard”.
Co-starring Marin Ireland (Sneaky Pete) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Dope Thief’s pilot helmed by Scott sucks viewers in immediately.
This is thanks to the series’ great premise, darkly comedic script, stylish filmmaking and tense action set-pieces – as well as the chemistry between the always excellent Henry and Moura.
Holding an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes, you can read a sample of some of the glowing reviews for the show below:
Empire: “With a series of superbly directed set-pieces that lean as hard on character beats as they do action, and a clutch of knockout central performances, Dope Thief is a wild ride that you just won’t want to quit.”
Globe and Mail: “In between the entertaining suspense elements, Henry gives a tremendous tragicomic performance as Ray, a man weighed down by his past, his family and his own addictions.”
The Guardian: “Things move so fast and furiously that Dope Thief gets away with it. It is essentially a heist story, a caper, and you have to stretch your credulity for those anyway, so what’s a little more? Especially when you get a performance like Henry’s thrown in.”
TheWrap: “Ultimately, Ray and Manny’s chemistry is what keeps viewers invested in this wild rollercoaster of a story that manages to be quirky and intense, as well as heartbreaking.”
The first two episodes of Dope Thief are available to stream on Apple TV+ now, with the rest of its eight-episode season dropping weekly on Fridays.
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