When Apple TV+ decides it's going to get some big names for a new TV project, it doesn't tend to do things in half measures. So, for its newly-announced thriller series Dope Thief, not only does it have some massive stars in leading roles, but also the inimitable Ridley Scott on board directing the pilot episode.
Scott's bombastic tone and willingness to take stories to dark places certainly looks like a key touchstone for the series, which will star Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura whose criminal tactics take a dark turn on a job. With a generous handful of awards to their collective name, that's a great cast list already, for a show that just got its first trailer.
Drug money is the name of the game here, as the show's title might have hinted already. The two leads play childhood friends who've come up with an interesting tactic – they pose as DEA agents making a drug bust, but actually just use that to rip off drug dealers and suppliers.
It's a high-risk game, and goes wrong for them when they accidentally stumble on a stash way, way bigger than they expected. That'll see them go on the run and start to scramble to get their families protected – which means people have to go into hiding or risk some terrible consequences.
Everything we see in the trailer (which very much ramps up in its final minute or so) makes Dope Thief look like it's going to take viewers to some extremely stressful places. Which, let's be honest, is a very good thing – all of the best thrillers are edge-of-your-seat gripping, so this has every shot at being a modern classic.
It's also great to see Moura in particular in more projects. He broke through so memorably in Narcos on Netflix (a competitor for Apple in the race to be the best streaming service), but I hadn't seen him in a lot until last year's excellent Civil War. It'll be fascinating to see him stretch his wings a little more (albeit still in a drug-themed show) when Dope Thief starts on 14 March.
