Heist and con-man stories have always had a special place in Hollywood, from the slick Ocean's movies to the twisty Now You See Me franchise and global hits like Lupin and Money Heist. Yet, the subgenre remains relatively underexplored. Enter Lucky, Apple TV+'s latest crime thriller that puts Anya Taylor-Joy front and center as a grifter trying to outrun her past. Based on Marissa Stapley's bestselling novel and developed by Jonathan Tropper (Warrior) and Cassie Pappas (Silo), the series follows Lucky Armstrong after a heist goes sideways, forcing her to confront the criminal life she was raised in.
A Sharp Departure from the Book
While Stapley's novel centered on a lottery-winning grifter torn over turning in her ticket, the Apple TV+ adaptation takes a different route. Here, Lucky wakes up in Las Vegas to find her husband Cary (Drew Starkey) has vanished with their stolen cash, leaving her to face the consequences alone. Raised by her con-artist father John (Timothy Olyphant), Lucky is a quick-thinking survivor who lies as naturally as she breathes. Now, with the FBI and a dangerous gangster closing in, she must rely on her wits to stay alive.
Hot on her trail is Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor's Billie Rand, a tenacious FBI agent with a personal stake in the case. Even when her boss Kershaw (Eric Lange) urges caution, Rand can't let go. Worse than the feds is Annette Bening's Priscilla Matheson, a mob boss who also happens to be Lucky's mother-in-law—and she wants her money back. Priscilla's deadly henchman Dutch (Clifton Collins Jr.) and the cold crime lord Whittaker (William Fichtner) round out a tangled web of connections that the show slowly unravels.
Ellis-Taylor Steals the Spotlight
Though Taylor-Joy is the lead, Ellis-Taylor is the real standout. Her Rand is a classic hard-boiled agent, but Ellis-Taylor brings nuance to the role, especially when her character's walls come down. Similarly, Taylor-Joy shines in moments of vulnerability, but too often her dialogue feels stiff and fails to land emotionally. The series hints at Lucky's inner conflict—her desire to be good versus her survival instincts—but never digs deep enough.
It's not until Olyphant's John becomes a bigger presence in the second half that Lucky's complexities truly emerge. By then, the show relies heavily on heart-pounding action to keep things moving. While Lucky is thrilling, it lacks the charm and emotional payoff that the best heist stories deliver. Bening's Priscilla is compelling, but her relationship with Whittaker feels underdeveloped, reducing her from a shrewd leader to a victim when they face off.
The series struggles to balance its action sequences with the intricate narrative it's building. Olyphant is underused for most of the season, and the show often tells rather than shows key dynamics. By the end, it feels like we've only scratched the surface of what could have been a richer story. For fans of the genre, Lucky offers a decent ride, but it never quite hits the mark.
For more on the best thrillers, check out our ranking of the 25 best thriller TV series of the past quarter century or dive into 6 overlooked R-rated thrillers that deliver nonstop intensity.
