Based on Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel of the same name and adapted for television by “Your Friends & Neighbors” creator Jonathan Tropper, Apple TV limited series “Lucky” is the captivating story of one young woman’s desperate attempt to break free of the dark and violent life that’s shaped her. More than an intricate game of cat-and-mouse, the crime drama plays on the tensions between nature and nurture while unpacking the dangers and vulnerabilities that come with loving other people.
We first see Luciana “Lucky” Armstrong (a fantastic Anya Taylor-Joy) trying to evade the FBI at a crowded bus stop somewhere in Arizona. But this is not where Lucky’s story begins. In a flashback to the previous day, Lucky embraces her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey), on the balcony of their massive hotel suite in Las Vegas. At the bidding of Lucky’s incarcerated con artist father, John (Timothy Olyphant), the couple has stolen $10 million from notorious gangster Wayne Whittaker (William Fichtner), and they decide to live it up for one last night before fleeing the country. Despite their celebratory mood, Lucky can’t quite shake the feeling that something is on the verge of going horribly awry.
When Lucky awakens the next day alone in the suite, with neither Cary nor the money in sight, she realizes her gut instinct was correct. With FBI special agent Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) on her tail and Whittaker underboss Priscilla Matheson (Annette Bening) on her neck, Lucky must use all the knowledge her sole parental figure instilled in her so she may emerge from her circumstances in one piece.
