With Peter Craig's Dope Thief, Apple TV+ adds another richly compelling drama to its already formidable library. Bolstered by top-notch performances from stars Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta, Widows, Eternals) and Wagner Moura (Narcos, Civil War) and rounded out by an exceptional supporting cast deserving of recognition come awards season, this show succeeds in carving its own place in what is an absurdly crowded genre.
The Philadelphia-set crime thriller comes courtesy of Craig, screenwriter behind such hits as The Town, Bad Boys for Life, The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick and the recent Gladiator II - and is adapted from Dennis Tafoya’s 2009 novel of the same name. This marks Craig's first time helming and writing for television - and he comes out swinging, with the pilot episode directed by the venerable Ridley Scott (re-teaming after collaborating on Gladiator II), seldom letting up across its 8-episode run. Out of Craig’s previous writing credits, Dope Thief feels most indebted to Affleck’s The Town as an grounded, unglamorous crime caper exploring relationships under strain and how even the most resilient of friendships can only stretch so far against seemingly insurmountable odds.
The show tells the story of Ray Driscoli (Henry) and Manny Cespedes (Moura), lifelong Philly residents and inseparable friends, who in the pilot’s delightfully frenetic cold open, are deep in the hustle. That hustle? Impersonating agents of DEA (US Drug Enforcement Agency), the pair pounce upon unsuspecting small-time drug dealers and get away with their cash before anyone wises up to their deception. This rather creative grift serves them well enough (though by no means extravagantly), enabling Ray to look after his surrogate mother Theresa (a note-perfect Kate Mulgrew) and Manny to have a relatively stable home life with his girlfriend Sherry (Liz Caribel Sierra). However, this normalcy is soon shattered when the pair bite off more than they can chew with their next target - a ramshackle meth lab out in the middle of nowhere, which it turns out is the stash house of a shadowy gang known as ‘The Alliance’, which employs bikers as its muscle. Ray and Manny are beleaguered and on the run, not just from the Alliance and its associates, but the police and the DEA. This takes its toll on their bond with each other (fuelled by the magnetically natural chemistry between Henry and Moura), and those around them, in more ways than one.
If anything, the titular dope thieving does not really extend beyond the pilot. This is not an issue, as the story being told is a different one - if anything, the narrative potential of the show’s premise serves as a testament to how effectively Craig and Scott manage to secure our investment from the offset. Craig or anyone at Apple: If you are reading this, how about a prequel chronicling the dope thieves’ early days as DEA wannabes?
“Me and Manny, we were posing as feds. We were ripping off drug dealers— scumbags, nobodies, you know? And we would take their money, we would take their drugs, and we would make sure that nobody knew who we was. Like, it was work. Research. Protocol. We were very, like, professional. Anyway, we went to the wrong house, and now these people are looking for us and they are gonna hurt anybody that we care about.”
Nowadays, far too many streaming dramas can be placed into the categories of being artificially glossy to superficially grungy, struggling to create a believable, lived-in world regardless of the absurd amounts of money thrown at it. Fortunately, Craig and his production team manage to swerve such traps, constructing a tangible vision of Philly that is richly populated with living, breathing characters. No matter how briefly we encounter the supporting cast or bit parts, they seldom resort to cardboard cutouts or caricature. Instead, each individual we, Ray and Manny encounters on their journey feels in possession of a genuine inner life, rather than a mere cipher or tool to propel the narrative forwards - with scant exception. Mulgrew’s Theresa makes for a particular highlight, imbuing pain, pathos and dry wit into a role that could have so easily faded into the background if handled differently. Ving Rhames delivers a solidly gruff turn as Ray’s convict father Bart, though he is unfortunately saddled with some of the more notable clunkers in the script (arguably Craig could have put a few less analogies in his characters’ mouths). Nesta Cooper is sweetly sensitive as Michelle, Bart’s lawyer who finds herself drawn into Ray’s orbit as his world spirals out of control. Marin Ireland is yet another standout as Mina, the DEA agent who takes it upon herself to bring Ray and Manny in - clashing with her superiors, including boss Amir (played by Mark Nader, giving one of the few performances which fails to register). I could keep reeling off the other wonderful characters in this show, but I will save you the joy of discovering them for yourselves. A tighter show could have arguably been crafted by jettisoning some of the show’s tertiary characters and subplots, but I would consider that a net loss.
One of my few gripes comes with the resolution of the season, which (without going into spoiler territory) unfortunately falls prey to the more glaring of narrative tropes and traps that had up to that point been successfully dodged (or at least minimised). Nonetheless, that does not cancel out the potency of what has been delivered up to that point - including nuanced character work, wryly humorous flecks of respite and some absolutely barnstorming action set-pieces which rank amongst the best TV in recent years (watch out for Episode 6).
“I saw someone who is trying so hard to be a good person and had no idea what that meant.”
Dope Thief makes for an exceptionally fulfilling watch in its own right, although in its explosive closing moments, Craig and co make pretty obvious that they hamper for the story to continue. Given what has been delivered and provided standards can be maintained (exceeded, even), they absolutely deserve to - certainly more than some of Apple TV+’s disproportionately praised shows (here’s looking at you, Silo). Dope Thief deserves to be heralded as a case study in crime drama done right.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Episodes 1 and 2 of Dope Thief premiere March 14 on Apple TV+, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly.
About Dope Thief
Premiere Date: 14 March 2025
Episode Count: 8
Showrunner: Peter Craig
Executive Producer: Ridley Scott
Writer: Peter Craig
Director: Various
Production: Scott Free, Apple Studios
Distribution: Apple
Cast: Brian Tyree Henry, Wagner Moura, Marin Ireland, Kate Mulgrew, Ving Rhames
Synopsis: Based on Dennis Tafoya’s book “Dope Thief,” the series follows long-time Philly friends and delinquents who pose as DEA agents to rob an unknown house in the countryside, only to have their small-time grift become a life-and-death enterprise, as they unwittingly reveal and unravel the biggest hidden narcotics corridor on the Eastern Seaboard.