Apple’s Crime Drama Television Series “Dope Thief” Features Jazz Classic “Thanks for the Memory”
Apple’s crime drama television series, based on Dennis Tafoya’s book of the same name, follows long-time Philly friends and delinquents Ray (Brian Tyree Henry) and Manny (Wagner Moura) running a scam in which, dressed as DEA agents, they scare small-time Philadelphia dope dealers out of money and drugs. They pride themselves on being well prepared, knowing the layout of whatever house they’re about to bust into waving badges and guns, but getting out without violence. Apart from that, and staying straight, it’s a quiet life.
Into this balanced world comes Rick (Spenser Granese), who suggests they might find the work less dangerous and more profitable a couple of
hours outside of town; and, though anyone watching at home can see this is a mistake and Rick is not cut out to be a reliable collaborator, off they go, into a caper in which everything goes wrong. Ray and Manny pose as DEA agents to rob an unknown house in the countryside, only to have their small-time grift become a life-and-death enterprise, as they unwittingly reveal and unravel the biggest hidden narcotics corridor on the Eastern Seaboard. Suddenly, Ray and Manny find themselves caught between the cops and a cartel, as an unidentified voice delivers increasingly scary messages to the effect that everyone they hold dear is now a target.
“Dope Thief,” starring Academy Award nominee and executive produced by Brian Tyree Henry (“Atlanta,” “Causeway,” “Bullet Train”), and starring Wagner Moura, (“Narcos,” “Civil War”), will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on March 14, 2025 followed by new episodes every Friday through April 25. The new, eight-episode crime drama is created and executive produced by Academy Award nominee Peter Craig (“The Batman” and “Top Gun: Maverick”) and executive produced by Academy Award nominee Ridley Scott (“Gladiator,” “The Martian,” “Blade Runner”).
Apple TV+’s mesmerizing, funny tale of low-level criminals stealing drugs while posing as DEA agents is fast, furious and funny. All hell tends to
break loose if it does. Never more so, it turns out, than if a pair of low-level criminals find a semi-lucrative groove posing as DEA agents to fake-bust other small-time drug dealers and relieve them of their cash without real police ever getting involved. Such is the hustle of Ray Driscoll and Manny Carvalho, best friends since they met as young men in prison, addicts at different stages of recovery, and now partners in crime moving through the minor crack dens of Philadelphia. The opening set piece is so funny. “Did you just pause the game?” Ray asks incredulously as the armed pair burst into a dealer’s house screaming at the computer-playing addicts to get down on the floor.
Dope Thief” hails from Apple Studios and is a Scott Free Production. The ensemble cast includes Marin Ireland (“The Umbrella Academy,” “Sneaky Pete”), Kate Mulgrew (“Star Trek: Prodigy,” “The Magnificent Meyersons”), Nesta Cooper (“See”), Amir Arison (“The Blacklist”) and Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames (“Mission: Impossible” franchise). During a scene of episode 1, a recording of the jazz classic “Thanks for the Memory,” composed by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo robin, is featured.