New episodes of Dope Thief drop Fridays on Apple TV+.
Apple TV+’s Dope Thief is a crime drama with an intriguing premise, strong performances, and stylish direction. Yet, despite its potential, the series struggles to maintain its momentum, bogged down by pacing issues and tonal inconsistencies that keep it from being a truly great entry in the genre.
Based on Dennis Tafoya’s novel, Dope Thief follows Ray Driscoll (Brian Tyree Henry) and Manny Carvalho (Wagner Moura), two small-time criminals who pose as DEA agents to rob drug dealers. It’s a setup rife with tension, offering the kind of high-stakes scenarios that could easily lend themselves to both dark humor and gritty drama. Their operation goes relatively smoothly, until, of course, it doesn’t. A job gone wrong puts them in the crosshairs of both law enforcement and actual dangerous criminals, forcing them to reckon with their choices as their pasts start catching up with them.
Henry and Moura are undoubtedly the show’s strongest assets, bringing depth and humanity to characters that could have easily felt like caricatures. Henry, in particular, delivers a compelling performance as Ray, a man torn between his loyalty to his friend and the gnawing sense that he’s running out of time to change his ways. Moura plays Manny with a mix of charm and desperation, making it clear that while he’s good at what he does, he’s also in way over his head. Their chemistry carries the series even when the writing falters.
Visually, Dope Thief looks great, with moody cinematography and Ridley Scott’s direction in the pilot setting a strong stylistic foundation. The show captures the grit of Philadelphia’s underbelly in a way that feels lived-in rather than exaggerated, grounding the story in a convincing reality. But as the season progresses, Dope Thief starts to lose its footing. Some plotlines meander, and the pacing slows down just as the tension should be ramping up. There’s also an odd tonal imbalance — the show oscillates between being a grounded crime drama and something more absurd, which makes it difficult to know what kind of story it’s trying to tell.
That’s not to say Dope Thief doesn’t have moments of brilliance. Certain episodes, particularly those that lean into the complicated dynamic between Ray and Manny, offer compelling character studies. And when the tension is firing on all cylinders, it’s easy to get swept up in the drama. But as a whole, the show never quite locks into place the way it should.
For fans of crime thrillers, Dope Thief is worth checking out, especially for its performances and moments of well-crafted tension. But its inconsistency keeps it from being the knockout it had the potential to be.
I give Dope Thief a B-.
TV and City 