Dope Thief

If George Pelecanos has Baltimore and Dennis Lehane has Boston, Tafoya is probably the best spotlight for Philadelphia's crime fiction considering the similarities, which is a shame considering he lacks the volume of work the other two have. Nonetheless, Peter Craig does a good job adapting the novel as a series.

Brian Tyree Henry is Ray Driscoll, an intelligent self-taught crook who makes his money as sticking up drug dealers in Philadelphia alongside his best friend, immature dopehead Manny Carvalho. Deciding to go bigger, they recruit ex-convict Rick to act as a third man while robbing a meth lab. The problem? Rick is killed in a gun battle with the cooks and wounds a third woman, who turns out to be an undercover DEA agent. The bigger problem? The meth lab belongs to an outlaw biker gang pushing into Philly's drug trade, and they know both Ray and Manny stole their product.

The cast is good, with Kate Mulgrew standing out as Theresa, the girlfriend of Ray's father and a loving mother figure to Ray, who calls "Ma" without hesitation. However, the DEA side of the series doesn't really mesh well. Marin Ireland is fine but doesn't really feel noteworthy as Mina. She's not emotive as a character except for a few scenes.

People complained about the dialogue, but I like it well enough. It adds to the influence of both The Wire and Lehane's own body of work. Manny cries and freaks out a little too much for me, but nothing seems out of place in spite of that.

This just gets going right away. The scenes are all high octane fun, but the plot just gets way too crazy. So many loose ends and just completely far fetched possibilities from all angles. It's worth watching if you can turn your brain off, and just enjoy the action. These new shows have just so much endless crime and killing it makes no sense that there are even parts with actual police doing police work. I enjoy most of the characters and will watch it till the end, but I already have a good idea where it will end up. I don't want to put any spoilers so I will just say it's a wild ride so far.

Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura deliver an amazing performance in Dope Thief. They are like virtuoso violinists, transitioning from one scene to another with remarkable skill. The story is engaging; however, the TV series incorporates too many elements simultaneously, making it feel overly chaotic. Yes, it belongs to the crime genre, but it feels like a well-crafted dessert overwhelmed by excessive sauce.

Character development focuses almost entirely on Ray (Brian Tyree Henry), while the other characters could have been explored more deeply. Supporting roles are relegated mostly to the background, which feels like a missed opportunity. I find it frustrating when a series fails to surpass the standard despite having all the ingredients for success.

Although I've criticized the series on these points, I still recommend watching it. It's a good TV series-but it had the potential to be even better.

Dope Thief is even better than I expected it to be and I expected it to be really good. Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura are great in just about everything they've ever been in and Dope Thief is no different. In fact, it might be their best work for the both of them. The only negative about Apple shows are they release them one every week and a show this good you're going to want to watch the next episode the second you're done with the one you're watching. Dope Thief reminds me of The Wire on how it shows how crime impacts every socioeconomic level. I'm not saying this is as good as The Wire, not much is, but it's still very good in its own right. I definitely recommend you give this a try...I promise you won't be disappointed.

I seem to say this about all of Apple TV+ series that come out but Dope Thief was terrific. Apple TV just continues to pump out hit after hit and this is no different. Dope Thief follows two lifelong friends (Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura) as they pose as DEA agents to rob drug houses. That is until they hit the wrong people that have life and death consequences. They accidentally hit the biggest narcotics corridor on the Eastern Seaboard. I can't say enough about the performances that Henry and Moura put in here, especially Henry, I'd be shocked if he or both aren't nominated for awards come award season. This show will keep you on the edge of your seat and you're going to want to binge it as quickly as possible.