When you think of the best crime shows of the last decade, I’m sure one of the first that comes to mind is probably The Blacklist. One of the more memorable characters on that series was Aram Mojtabai, played by Amir Arison for nine seasons. While The Blacklist has come to a close on NBC, Arison has moved on to his next TV role on streaming… which also happens to be law enforcement, and he was not expecting that.
Dope Thief is a new Apple TV+ series that hit the 2025 TV schedule on March 14. Created by Peter Craig, sees Arison as Mark Nader, a DEA supervisor who has been assigned to track down Ray (Brian Tyree Henry). Prior to the show's first two episodes dropping on streaming, I asked Arison if he ever expected to go from one role in the government to the next after such a significant role in a network TV show like The Blacklist.
The actor was honest and said that he didn’t expect it, but said it was like “graduating” from his role in The Blacklist:
It was particularly exciting. I did not expect my next role to be law enforcement again… even though Aram was FBI, and this is DEA, and there is a big difference. But it was fun to sort of take the material and graduate to being the boss. Aram was sort of the junior guy trying to please, trying to do a good job. And now I (Mark) was the guy who says no all the time.
The Dope Thief star continued, saying that it almost felt “right” to step into the role, considering Mark is the complete opposite of who Aram was. So, despite some general commonalities, it was a real treat to play someone different:
Aram was always sort of trying to keep the spirits up. Mark has no interest in keeping the spirits up at all. So it was actually a real delight and felt like, as I got older, it felt right to kind of step into that. I feel like I grew up on television as Aram. I sort of gained experience and confidence and time and joy, and it was nice to throw that all the way on Dope Thief.
Arison isn’t joking when he says that Mark is quite literally the opposite of Aram. The character always felt like sort of a light in the darkness of The Blacklist pretty consistently, and Mark, on Dope Thief, is certainly not that. He is the definition of “no-nonsense” and will pretty much do anything to get that.
But it’s still great to see him back in a role like this. The actor actually left The Blacklist after nine seasons in order to take part in a Broadway production, so we didn’t get to see him in Season 10. He only appeared as a guest, and ultimately became one of the many Blacklist cast members who left the show over the years. Seeing Amir Arison now playing another law enforcer should just be the icing on the cake for those who came from his network TV show and are checking out his new streaming follow-up.
Dope Thief certainly puts him to the test in terms of intensity, and it’s a wild ride from beginning to end. It’s undoubtedly become a show that I look forward to each week. So, if you’re looking to see Arison in this new DEA role, then check out Dope Thief with an Apple TV+ subscription.
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