Television Review | Apple TV

Dope Thief: Season One (2025) — uneven crime drama gets its wires crossed

Two lifelong friends in Philadelphia pose as DEA agents to rob small-time drug dealers…

What happens when two friends decide to impersonate DEA agents and steal from small-time drug dealers? The obvious answer proves to be the correct one in this crime-drama series streaming on Apple TV+. Dope Thief attempts to balance dramatic tension with action but deviates from expectations throughout its eight episodes, presenting unrealistic scenarios and misguided character arcs.

Based on Dennis Tafoya’s 2009 novel, the series follows Ray Driscoll (Brian Tyree Henry) and Manny Carvalho (Wagner Moura). Neither man can keep a steady job. While Manny tries to support his girlfriend Sherry (Liz Caribel Sierra), Ray only knows that a life of crime will help pay the rent. With a father in prison and a mother lost to an overdose, Ray was raised by his stepmother Theresa (Kate Mulgrew). Now 28 days sober, he’s just traded one addiction for another — drugs for theft.

“We just take our cut…