Apple TV+ is still an enigma among streaming services for me. With names like Netflix, Hulu and Max dominating the world of streaming, it sometimes feels like Apple TV+ hasn’t quite settled into becoming one of the streaming platform giants, despite its success with shows like “Ted Lasso” and “Severance.” On a whim, I decided to branch out and watch the first two episodes of the new Apple TV+ show “Dope Thief,” a crime drama set in Philadelphia.
Based on Dennis Tafoya’s novel of the same name, Brian Tyree Henry (“Big Mouth”) and Wagner Moura (“Narcos”) star as Ray and Manny, two friends who pretend to be drug enforcement agency officers to “bust” low-profile Philly drug dealers, taking their cash and drugs for themselves.
The pacing is slow in the first episode and follows a plotline that is easy to predict for the first twenty minutes. When Ray learns that his adoptive mother, Theresa (Kate Mulgrew, “Star Trek: Prodigy”), is in need of a large sum of money, he drags a reluctant Manny and their new hire Rick (Spenser Granese, “Better Call Saul”) with him to pursue Rick’s tip, about which he has little to no information. This sets off an explosive chain of events that leads to a string of violent deaths. As Ray and Manny flee from the crime scene, an ominous and unknown voice threatens them over a radio for trying to steal from them. The two friends must race to find the voice’s identity before they and their loved ones become targets.
Ray and Manny’s backgrounds are given in momentary, black-and-white flashbacks — a narrative element that sometimes seems cliché in its execution as it tells rather than shows. It provides some intrigue but feels almost like it’s forcing the viewer to ask about the mysterious pasts of the show’s protagonists instead of inciting a more natural curiosity. However, these flashbacks do reveal key bits of information, like how Ray and Manny met years prior, seemingly on their way to (or from) a detention facility.
Beyond flashbacks, Henry and Moura’s performances reveal the nuances of their characters through present-day interactions with those around them. Henry imbues confidence in Ray that starts strong and begins to tremble as danger mounts around him. It finally breaks at the end of the second episode as Ray cries, a quietly devastating moment that allows the viewer to reckon with everything that has happened alongside him. Meanwhile, Manny’s desire for a life free of crime shines in the way he shows Ray a pendant of Jesús Malverde, the narco-saint, a gift of protection from his girlfriend Sherry (Liz Caribel, “Bunny”). Moura’s poignant performance as Manny is worth watching as he transitions between being a voice of reason and an anxious man who has much to lose, making the stakes feel even higher.
With popular drug crime series like “Breaking Bad” and “Narcos” out there, I was unsure what “Dope Thief” would bring to the table. There are the classic stakes of losing loved ones, keeping a profitable hustle going and escaping a mysterious antagonist hunting the leads down. But Ray and Manny’s escapades as fake DEA agents is something new and worth noting, particularly in how the characters paint what they’re doing as a good thing.
Ray and Manny see their targets as children whose “candy” they’re taking — the first episode is aptly named “Jolly Ranchers” for this very reason. This alone is enough to understand how the duo justify their ventures, but it’s jarring when they’re confronted with someone who shoots a gun inside the house they’re busting. The camerawork is incredible as it hides the identity of this shooter, building tension until the moment the camera pans towards a child. The duo and the viewer are forced to look at who is really affected by Ray and Manny’s operation, and the show’s creators give a grim reminder of who can be and who is impacted by drug trafficking.
With this in mind, one has to consider whether Ray and Manny can truly be considered “heroes” themselves. By taking the audience through their lives as everything goes to hell, the writers try to endear the show’s protagonists to its audience — and maybe it’s working, but only time will tell.
Ultimately, “Dope Thief” shows promise and is a suspenseful series to keep an eye on as the plot continued to unfold. Episodes are released weekly on Fridays.
Daily Arts Contributor Eilene Koo can be reached at ekoo@umich.edu.
