If you're a movie buff, chances are you know who Ridley Scott is – and honestly, even if you're not, you probably know Ridley Scott’s best movies. The director is famous for some of the biggest films of the last forty years, like Alien, Gladiator and, of course, the sequel Gladiator II. Peter Craig, one of the story writers on Gladiator II, decided to move over to television for the creation of Dope Thief, a TV adaptation of the novel – and Ridley Scott joined him for the ride.
The 2025 TV schedule is filled to the brim with new shows, but Dope Thief was not one I was expecting to love. I had the chance to speak to Craig before the premiere of the show. When I found out that Ridley Scott actually directed the first episode, I knew I had to ask how that happened. Craig was honest and said that it was just the right time, especially since a former film that the two were working together on fell apart:
I just had a really opportune moment. So we've been trying to work on a movie about a war photographer for a long time. It was right about to go, a really good cast that I won't go into 'cause I think you're not supposed to do those things. But Ridley and I were excited about it. We'd been working really closely on the script, and then it's one of those things where you sometimes just lose your financing at the last second. The movie fell apart.
Craig commented that the famous director "loves to work," and that when bringing him on for the premiere episode, it was just a simple conversation. There was "no courtship" or anything to try and convince him:
Ridley loves the work. He's at his happiest when he is working, and I just showed him this pilot that I had right as that happened. I was like, 'Oh, we'll see if you like this.' He loved it right away. He got the dark humor of it. Ridley always kind of wants to do more dark humor than he does. And so we went to work right away. I mean, there was actually no fanfare. There was no process. There was no courtship. He was just in. And then we went to work together on this.
Considering this was Scott and Craig's first collaboration on television, they went all in. It's honestly one of the most energetic and blood-pumping premiere episodes I've seen in a long time. To me, Dope Thief might just become one of the best Apple TV+ shows.
But it's not like Craig hasn't had significant success before because of his stories. Craig has been the screenwriter behind many huge films in Hollywood. He co-wrote the screenplays for the last two The Hunger Games films, i.e. both parts of Mockingjay. He also co-wrote one of the best live-action Batman movies, The Batman, alongside director Matt Reeves. He even wrote the story for Top Gun: Maverick, a film that everyone enjoyed, and now, fans want Top Gun 3.
It's not that surprising that his first show on television would end up becoming amazing, especially with the crew and cast that he has behind him. Such stars of Dope Thief include Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Wagner Moura (Civil War), Kate Mulgrew (the Orange is the New Black cast) and more. With eight episodes, I have a feeling it's only going to be the condensed, action-packed show that people are begging for – coming from someone who has seen all eight of them.
Dope Thief premieres its first two episodes on March 14, which you can access with an Apple TV+ subscription.
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