External links
- Dope Thief at IMDb
| Dope Thief | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Peter Craig |
| Based on | Dope Thief by Dennis Tafoya |
| Written by | Peter Craig |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Dominic Lewis |
| Opening theme | "Point and Kill" by Little Simz feat. Obongjayar |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Apple TV+ |
| Release | March 14 – April 25, 2025 |
Dope Thief is an American crime drama television miniseries created by Peter Craig, based on the 2009 novel by Dennis Tafoya. It premiered on Apple TV+ on March 14, 2025.
Two Philadelphia friends who pose as DEA agents to rob drug dealers face the consequences of their actions when they steal from an organized narcotics operation under surveillance by the actual DEA.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Jolly Ranchers" | Ridley Scott | Peter Craig | March 14, 2025 | |
In 2021, childhood friends Ray and Manny support themselves by impersonating DEA agents to rob low-level stash houses in Philadelphia. Ray learns that his adoptive mother, Theresa, needs $10,000 while a soon-to-be wed Manny is desperate to leave his criminal past behind. They recruit a fellow ex-convict, Rick, who suggests they could nab a larger score by robbing a methamphetamine lab in Ottsville; against his better judgement, Ray agrees. The robbery goes off the rails when a nervous Rick opens fire, and he and two meth cooks are killed before the lab catches fire and explodes. Ray and Manny escape with a large amount of cash and unprocessed meth, but a mysterious caller threatens to hunt them down. Mina, a survivor of the robbery, is an undercover DEA agent and informs her colleagues about the imposters. | |||||
| 2 | "Bat Out of Hell" | Jonathan van Tulleken | Peter Craig | March 14, 2025 | |
Ray sends Theresa to Atlantic City to get her out of town and visits his incarcerated father, Bart, who admits that he told a recently paroled inmate about his son's activities. Delivering the drugs to trusted trafficker Son Pham to resell, Ray stashes the money in a storage locker. He and Manny find the inmate and his Amish associates brutally slaughtered, and they are ambushed by bikers but manage to kill them. Realizing they have been identified by the mysterious caller, Manny ditches Ray to make sure his girlfriend, Sherry, is safe. Ray flees from more bikers until one is hit by a truck, and reluctantly meets with Michelle Taylor, a lawyer hired by Theresa to seek a compassionate release for Bart under state COVID-19 guidelines. Michelle reveals Bart is dying of cancer and Ray, despite his hatred for his father, agrees to pay her retainer. | |||||
| 3 | "Run, Die, or Relapse" | Tanya Hamilton | Peter Craig | March 21, 2025 | |
The DEA recovers plates from Ray's burned van and a gun used in the robbery; by tracking down the dealer it was stolen from, they obtain a composite sketch of Ray's face. Son abandons Ray to protect his own family and urges him to skip town, while the bikers interrogate and kill Ray's associate Malik. Theresa returns home against Ray's wishes and he admits the truth about his robbery scheme, before finding Manny hiding in his attic. Ray is forced to accompany Theresa to visit Bart, who has been stabbed in prison, and realizes the bikers have set an ambush for him. Before they can kill Ray, the bikers are arrested by local police. Manny begs for help reconciling with Sherry, who has threatened to turn him in, and Ray stops her by revealing Manny intends to propose to her. Outside, he finds a box with a threatening note and Malik's severed head. | |||||
| 4 | "Philadelphia Lawyer" | Marcela Said | Peter Craig | March 28, 2025 | |
Mina grieves the death of her partner, Jack, who was killed in the robbery and with whom she was having an affair. Struggling to regain her voice, she is determined to continue Jack's investigation into an "alliance" between the drug-dealing bikers and a Mexican cartel. Laying low at a motel with Theresa and Manny, who is using heroin to cope with his guilt, Ray convinces Sherry to stay away, and tracks down the bikers' meeting place. Son puts Ray in touch with an associate, Cyrus, but is targeted by the cartel and arrested by the DEA, who pressure Michelle to turn Ray in. Manny and Ray narrowly escape when Cyrus and his Juggalo gang are killed launching an attack on the bikers, and Ray stops a traumatized Manny from committing suicide with a grenade. Agreeing to meet with Michelle, Ray realizes he is walking into a DEA trap and slips away. | |||||
| 5 | "Fear of God" | Marcela Said | Peter Craig | April 4, 2025 | |
Son is forced by the DEA to call Ray, but gives him a secret warning not to incriminate himself. Mina meets Jack's wife, who knew about their affair, and contacts one of his informants using a code he kept on a $2 bill. Learning that Jack was actually working with the alliance, a distraught Mina calls a suicide hotline. Ray and Michelle give in to their mutual attraction, and he and Manny recover another $2 bill used by the murdered Amish, who are connected to a cartel stash. Son is released but continues to be threatened by the cartel. When Theresa defiantly returns home, Ray arrives to keep watch but is shot in the leg by a cartel sicario who demands the $2 code. Bart, newly paroled on house arrest, kills the gunman and saves his son. | |||||
| 6 | "Love Songs from Mars" | Jonathan van Tulleken | Peter Craig | April 11, 2025 | |
Bart, Theresa, and Manny struggle to help a wounded Ray, much to the confusion of the DEA, who have limited use of a listening device hidden in Bart's ankle monitor. Butting heads with her supervisor, Mark Nader, over Jack's extralegal activities and Ray's significance to their investigation, Mina confides in fellow agent Marchetti about her teenage daughter's death from a fentanyl overdose. Son arrives with his mother Xuan, a South Vietnamese refugee and wartime medic, to treat Ray, and Sherry reunites with Manny. A delirious Ray is haunted by memories of his late girlfriend, Marletta, and a cartel sniper fires on the house. Ray is taken to the hospital but ambushed by the bikers in an intense shootout. Manny rushes Ray inside and the bikers flee as the police arrive, but Bart is shot dead. | |||||
| 7 | "Mussolini" | Marcela Said | Peter Craig | April 18, 2025 | |
Weeks later, Theresa assists the DEA in luring the bikers into a sting operation, while Manny, Son, and a recovering Ray are all in custody. Manny learns Sherry is pregnant, and accepts the cartel's protection after the bikers try to have him killed. Michelle is still representing Ray but ends their romance, and is approached by Mina, who is fixated on Ray's connection to the larger drug trafficking operation. After an argument on the prison bus, Ray and Manny separately send Theresa and Sherry to collect the money, but they surprise each other at the storage unit. Ray wakes in the night to find his hospital floor empty and a nurse dead, and is taunted over the intercom by the mysterious caller, the alliance's unseen leader. Son survives an attempt on his life, and Michelle informs Ray that Manny has died from heroin given to him by the cartel. | |||||
| 8 | "Innocent People" | Peter Craig | Peter Craig | April 25, 2025 | |
After Manny's funeral, Marchetti discovers Son was being protected by someone inside the DEA and Mina confronts Ray, both agreeing to uncover the truth. DEA Special Agent Bill McKinty convinces his colleagues to listen to Ray, who deduces that the robbery was a setup: the $2 bills reveal coordinates where Jack hid the cartel stash, and Rick was sent to arrange the robbery and kill Jack. The alliance's leader demands a meeting with Son and Ray, who visits Michelle to say goodbye. As Son and the DEA take their positions, Ray, Mina, and Marchetti follow Jack's coordinates to a nearby graveyard where they uncover his stash: evidence proving McKinty is the alliance's leader, supplying Son and other criminals with stash houses protected by DEA "deconfliction". Marchetti races to warn the others, but McKinty kills Nader and his fellow agents to allow Son to escape with Xuan. Trapped in Mina's RV by McKinty and his bikers, Ray rams McKinty with the burning vehicle, killing the attackers when it explodes. Son leaves an apologetic voicemail for Ray, who has escaped with Mina and made a clean getaway. | |||||
It was announced in August 2022 that Sinking Spring, a TV series written by Peter Craig based on Dennis Tafoya's novel Dope Thief, would be produced for Apple TV+, with Brian Tyree Henry starring. Ridley Scott was set to direct the pilot episode, in addition to executive producing. Craig was also set to direct an episode. [2] The cast, including Michael Mando, Marin Ireland and Kate Mulgrew, were announced in the following months. [3] [4] [5] In January 2023, Amir Arison was cast, [6] with Ving Rhames, Dustin Nguyen and Nesta Cooper among additional castings the following month. [7] Kiều Chinh was cast in March. [8]
Filming began in February 2023 in Philadelphia. [9] Following an on-set altercation with another actor, Mando was fired, with Wagner Moura cast to replace him. [10] On May 9, filming was halted due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. [11]
In November 2024, it was reported that the series' title had been changed from Sinking Spring to Dope Thief, and that the first two episodes were set to premiere on March 14, 2025. [12]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100 [13] |
| Rotten Tomatoes | 86% [14] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The A.V. Club | B- [15] |
| TV Guide | 7.6/10 [16] |
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Dope Thief has an approval rating of 86% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura might be punching below their weight with Dope Thief's derivative story, but that doesn't stop them from making this thriller a riveting ride." [14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 74 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [13]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Astra TV Awards | Best Limited Series | Dope Thief | Nominated | [17] |
| Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie | Brian Tyree Henry | Nominated | |||
| Gotham TV Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Limited Series | Nominated | [18] | ||
| Black Reel Awards | Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series | Peter Craig | Pending | [19] | |
| Outstanding Lead Performance in a TV Movie/Limited Series | Brian Tyree Henry | Pending | |||
| Outstanding Directing in a TV Movie or Limited Series | Tanya Hamilton | Pending | |||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Brian Tyree Henry | Nominated | [20] |
