Dope Thief is a cracker of a show, possessing a pulpy vitality, superb acting and diverting action sequences, and it is as astutely engineered as any series we’ve seen this year.

| Apr 25, 2025

“Dope Thief” gets real by scratching below the surface of Philadelphia and its environs.

| Mar 18, 2025

The series is elevated by the two leads, whose lively rapport offsets the repetitive cycle of chases, shoot-outs and self-sabotage.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 18, 2025

Dope Thief’s cast is so strong, and their handling of the series’ innate tonal conflict so masterful, that the pacing issues don’t overwhelm.

| Mar 17, 2025

Dope Thief is a showcase for Mr. Henry, who has something of a task in maintaining Ray’s lowlife bona fides while keeping us interested, which he does. Mr. Moura, too, is first rate and both actors make their characters quite affecting.

| Mar 15, 2025

Things move so fast and furiously that Dope Thief gets away with it. It is essentially a heist story, a caper, and you have to stretch your credulity for those anyway, so what’s a little more? Especially when you get a performance like Henry’s thrown in.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 15, 2025

It plays out like a cuddlier version of The Wire, occasionally becoming too soapy with flashbacks to Ray’s lost love.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 15, 2025

Ultimately, Ray and Manny’s chemistry is what keeps viewers invested in this wild rollercoaster of a story that manages to be quirky and intense, as well as heartbreaking with an unexpected, yet conclusive outcome.

| Mar 14, 2025

In between the entertaining suspense elements, Henry gives a tremendous tragicomic performance as Ray, a man weighed down by his past, his family and his own addictions.

| Mar 14, 2025

As the plot becomes too far-fetched for its gritty presentation, the series also becomes less fun, despite the best efforts of its cast.

| Original Score: C+ | Mar 14, 2025

There’s a half of Dope Thief that I thought was pulpy, entertaining and unpredictable and a half of Dope Thief that I thought was unfocused, glum and familiar. But Henry is a star throughout.

| Mar 14, 2025

[Brian Tyree Henry] makes the most of the material served to him on a silver platter.

| Mar 14, 2025

The series is bracingly chaotic, but it’s another unfortunate example of streaming bloat.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 14, 2025

It’s a melodrama whose naturalism supports the series’ themes of friendship, family and sacrifice, explicitly stated at times, but most often demonstrated.

| Mar 14, 2025

One can’t help but wonder what the 150-minute film version directed by Scott would have looked like.

| Mar 14, 2025

With a series of superbly directed set-pieces that lean as hard on character beats as they do action, and a clutch of knockout central performances, Dope Thief is a wild ride that you just won’t want to quit.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 13, 2025

“Dope Thief,” which consistently cuts its angst and violence with reasonably clever, farcical comedy, is the much better use of eight hours.

| Mar 13, 2025

[Henry] and Moura nail the details in a production that nails gritty visual details about what the hard edges of Philly and a few of its tattered by the opioid crisis ‘burbs look and feel like.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 12, 2025

An initially surefooted crime drama about loyalty, respect, atonement, and family.

| Mar 12, 2025

"Dope Thief" doesn't have the heft of a top-shelf limited series, but it gets better as it goes. It captures the frenzy and fallout stemming from one really bad decision that keeps rippling, until it becomes a tidal wave of consequences.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 12, 2025