Advertisement
Dope Thief author on why Apple TV+’s adaptation had to be shot in ‘magnetic’ Philadelphia
Dennis Tafoya, on whose Philadelphia-set book the Apple TV+ series is based, shares how executive producer Scott fell in love with the city
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Author Dennis Tafoya remembers his time working in accident and emergency in a hospital in Doylestown, Philadelphia, in the 1980s.
One night, a call came in about a fire at a farmhouse-turned-meth lab, but when doctors attempted to help, the burn victim refused care and eventually died.
“It got me thinking about who ends up in a burning meth lab in the middle of the night,” said Tafoya in a recent call with Philadelphia newspaper The Inquirer.
Advertisement
That incident was the seed of the idea that, decades later, became Tafoya’s 2009 novel Dope Thief. It has since been adapted into a series of the same name on Apple TV+, written, directed, and executive produced by Peter Craig – who co-wrote the screenplay for 2010 crime thriller The Town – and executive produced by legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott.
Scott also directed the pilot, which introduces the two best friends-protagonists, Ray (Brian Tyree Henry) and Manny (Wagner Moura), who pose as DEA drug enforcement agents to steal money from small-time drug dealers.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x