Dope Thief

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.

Dope Thief
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Peter Craig
Based on	Dope Thief by Dennis Tafoya
Written by	Peter Craig
Starring	Brian Tyree Henry Wagner Moura Marin Ireland Amir Arison Nesta Cooper Kate Mulgrew Ving Rhames
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
Executive producers	Brian Tyree Henry Jennifer Wiley-Moxley Tanya Hamilton Clayton Krueger Jordan Sheehan Richard Heus Ridley Scott David W. Zucker Peter Craig
Producers	Debra Lovatelli Raymond Kirk Marjorie Chodorov
Cinematography	Erik Messerschmidt Yaron Orbach Eduardo Enrique Mayén
Editors	Billy Rich Jennifer Barbot J. Kathleen Gibson Eric Litman
Production companies	Night Owl Stories Scott Free Productions Apple Studios
Original release
Network	Apple TV+
Release	March 14 (2025-03-14) – April 25, 2025 (2025-04-25)

Premise

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.

Cast

Main

• Brian Tyree Henry as Ray Driscoll, a recovering addict and former drug dealer. He and his friend Manny exploit their knowledge of "the game" to rob dealers and support themselves.
• Wagner Moura as Manny Carvalho, Ray's childhood friend and partner who plans to settle down with his girlfriend Sherry
• Marin Ireland as Mina, a veteran DEA agent posing as a drug cook who survives a bullet to the throat during Rick's botched robbery
• Amir Arison as Mark Nader, a DEA supervisor in the Philadelphia office assigned to track down Ray.
• Nesta Cooper as Michelle Taylor, an ex-prosecutor and defense attorney hired by Theresa to arrange Bart's release
• Kate Mulgrew as Theresa Bowers, Bart's girlfriend and Ray's adoptive mother
• Ving Rhames as Bart Driscoll, Ray's cancer-stricken father and a notorious dealer who went to prison when Ray was a boy

Recurring

• Gabriel Ebert as Jack, an undercover DEA agent killed during the botched robbery
• Liz Caribel Sierra as Sherry, Manny's girlfriend
• Will Pullen as Marchetti, an DEA agent who works with Mina
• Idris Debrand as Teenage Ray
• Kaci Walfall as Marletta, Ray's deceased girlfriend, who was killed in a car accident while he was driving under the influence
• Dustin Nguyen as Son Pham, the son of South Vietnamese refugees and a well-connected drug trafficker. He gives Ray information on rival dealers and resells the drugs he steals from them in return.
• Kiều Chinh as Xuan "Grandma" Pham, Son's mother

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date [1]
1	"Jolly Ranchers"	Ridley Scott	Peter Craig	March 14, 2025 (2025-03-14)
Ray and Manny are two childhood friends who support themselves by impersonating DEA agents, robbing low-level stash houses in the inner city of Philadelphia. Ray learns that his adopted mother, Theresa, needs $10,000 in cash while a soon-to-be wed Manny is desperate to leave his criminal past behind. They hire an ex-convict, Rick, to assist them, but he suggests that they could nab a larger score by robbing a methamphetamine lab in Ottsville; against his better judgement, Ray agrees. The robbery quickly goes off the rails when a nervous Rick opens fire, resulting in him and two men being killed while the lab catches fire and explodes. Ray and Manny escape with a large amount of cash and unprocessed meth but receive a call from a stranger who reveals that he's already identified them. A survivor from the robbery turns out to be an undercover DEA agent who tips off her colleagues.
2	"Bat Out of Hell"	Jonathan van Tulleken	Peter Craig	March 14, 2025 (2025-03-14)
Ray bribes Theresa with a trip to Atlantic City to get her out of town, then pays a visit to his incarcerated father, Bart, who admits that he told a recently paroled inmate about his son's activities. After stashing the drugs and money, Ray and Manny track down the inmate but find him and his family brutally slaughtered before getting ambushed by two bikers. After a brief shootout, the bikers are killed, and Manny ditches Ray to make sure his girlfriend is safe. When Ray goes looking for them, another biker pursues him through the neighborhood before a truck runs him over. Theresa calls and tells Ray that he needs to meet with a lawyer, Michelle, about getting a compassionate release for Bart under state COVID-19 guidelines. From Michelle, Ray is informed that his father is dying from cancer and despite his hatred of the man, puts up the money to pay Michelle's retainer.
3	"Run, Die, or Relapse"	Tanya Hamilton	Peter Craig	March 21, 2025 (2025-03-21)
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 family, while urging him to skip town. Theresa returns home against Ray's wishes and demands the truth. After a heated argument, Ray goes upstairs and finds Manny hiding in his attic. The prison then calls Theresa with news that Bart has been stabbed. Forced to accompany her to visit him, Ray correctly deduces that the bikers have set an ambush for him when he leaves. Before they can kill him, however, local police sweep in and conduct mass arrests. Manny begs Ray for help reconciling with Sherry, who has threatened to turn him in. Ray stops her by revealing Manny's intentions to propose. Outside, he finds a box with a threatening note and the head of his associate Malik.
4	"Philadelphia Lawyer"	Marcela Said	Peter Craig	March 28, 2025 (2025-03-28)
5	"Fear of God"	Marcela Said	Peter Craig	April 4, 2025 (2025-04-04)
6	"Love Songs from Mars"	Jonathan van Tulleken	Peter Craig	April 11, 2025 (2025-04-11)
7	"Mussolini"	Marcela Said	Peter Craig	April 18, 2025 (2025-04-18)
8	"Innocent People"	Peter Craig	Peter Craig	April 25, 2025 (2025-04-25)

Production

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]

Reception

Professional ratings

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]