I may not have placed Sneaky Pete on my Top 5 list but after checking it out, I regret it's absence. Sneaky Pete is definitely one of Amazon's finest programs so far. (Link: Top 5 upcoming shows in 2017)
Sneaky Pete follows the story of Marius Josepovich, a con artist on the run from a mob boss after robbing him of $100,000. To avoid being caught, Marius takes on the identity of Pete Murphy, his cellmate in prison and proceeds to integrate himself within Pete's family.
But the show also focuses on Pete's family members such as his grandparents Otto and Aubrey as well as his cousins Taylor, Julia, and Carly. The main premise of the show focuses on Marius working in the family bail bonds business while also working to steal their money to pay off Vince the mob boss so Marius can rescue his brother Eddie.
I've been following this show ever since it was announced as a pilot back in 2015 when it was initially ordered by CBS. I wasn't too surprised to here that they had passed on the pilot since it wasn't made by CBS studios. But after hearing that Amazon had picked up the pilot, I was intrigued. I knew that if Amazon was interested then that means it must have been promising.
Soon afterwards Amazon ordered it to series but eventually it vanished from the spotlight until it's premiere recently. After watching the latest trailer, I eagerly awaited its arrival and soon commenced watching on the day it was uploaded. I ended up finishing the show within a week as I kept watching 2 episodes a day.
Upon viewing the pilot, I could tell that it had been meant for CBS. The pilot had set up a premise which would have led to a procedural format of going after bail skippers in every episode, but thanks to the shift in network and change in showrunner, the show evolved into a drama focusing on the consequences of deceit.
The story and execution was well done. Both the family and crime aspects of the show complemented each other as tensions on one side led to problems on the other. Keeping it serialised helped establish a solid foundation for building the characters and also allowed for a chance to get to know the characters within a few episodes. The short 10 episode order kept things compact and prevented the need for filler material.
I found myself impressed with the cast, mostly with Marius. Giovanni Ribisi may not get an Emmy, but I believe he at least deserves a nomination. Pete's grandparents and Vince played by Bryan Cranston were great as well. Even the supporting characters were good too. I liked how despite being a hostage, Marius's brother Eddie wasn't a total wimp and that Pete's cousin Carly wasn't a completely annoying teenager. The only person i really didn't care about was Taylor, Pete's cop cousin. He was kind of a jerk and I didn't feel invested in his personal problems
Possibly the most annoying part of this show for me was the ending. If it weren't for the last 3 minutes, the show could have ended on a good note as the main story wraps up quite nicely. But the last 3 minutes are used to set up the story for season 2. It would have been very frustrating if the show was cancelled but fortunately it was renewed only a week after its premiere so I consider this to be a nuisance which shall bother me until season 2 comes out.
Overall I think watching this show was 10 hours well spent. Particularly the last 3 episodes as they feature some exhilarating moments. All I can say now is that I hope Amazon gives us an equally amazing season 2 next year.
Quote of the special: "If the truth comes out, it's gonna be a sh*tstorm to end all sh*tstorms, because you'll go back to prison. "
Amazon
Sneaky Pete follows the story of Marius Josepovich, a con artist on the run from a mob boss after robbing him of $100,000. To avoid being caught, Marius takes on the identity of Pete Murphy, his cellmate in prison and proceeds to integrate himself within Pete's family.
But the show also focuses on Pete's family members such as his grandparents Otto and Aubrey as well as his cousins Taylor, Julia, and Carly. The main premise of the show focuses on Marius working in the family bail bonds business while also working to steal their money to pay off Vince the mob boss so Marius can rescue his brother Eddie.
I've been following this show ever since it was announced as a pilot back in 2015 when it was initially ordered by CBS. I wasn't too surprised to here that they had passed on the pilot since it wasn't made by CBS studios. But after hearing that Amazon had picked up the pilot, I was intrigued. I knew that if Amazon was interested then that means it must have been promising.
Soon afterwards Amazon ordered it to series but eventually it vanished from the spotlight until it's premiere recently. After watching the latest trailer, I eagerly awaited its arrival and soon commenced watching on the day it was uploaded. I ended up finishing the show within a week as I kept watching 2 episodes a day.
Upon viewing the pilot, I could tell that it had been meant for CBS. The pilot had set up a premise which would have led to a procedural format of going after bail skippers in every episode, but thanks to the shift in network and change in showrunner, the show evolved into a drama focusing on the consequences of deceit.
The story and execution was well done. Both the family and crime aspects of the show complemented each other as tensions on one side led to problems on the other. Keeping it serialised helped establish a solid foundation for building the characters and also allowed for a chance to get to know the characters within a few episodes. The short 10 episode order kept things compact and prevented the need for filler material.
I found myself impressed with the cast, mostly with Marius. Giovanni Ribisi may not get an Emmy, but I believe he at least deserves a nomination. Pete's grandparents and Vince played by Bryan Cranston were great as well. Even the supporting characters were good too. I liked how despite being a hostage, Marius's brother Eddie wasn't a total wimp and that Pete's cousin Carly wasn't a completely annoying teenager. The only person i really didn't care about was Taylor, Pete's cop cousin. He was kind of a jerk and I didn't feel invested in his personal problems
Possibly the most annoying part of this show for me was the ending. If it weren't for the last 3 minutes, the show could have ended on a good note as the main story wraps up quite nicely. But the last 3 minutes are used to set up the story for season 2. It would have been very frustrating if the show was cancelled but fortunately it was renewed only a week after its premiere so I consider this to be a nuisance which shall bother me until season 2 comes out.
Overall I think watching this show was 10 hours well spent. Particularly the last 3 episodes as they feature some exhilarating moments. All I can say now is that I hope Amazon gives us an equally amazing season 2 next year.
Quote of the special: "If the truth comes out, it's gonna be a sh*tstorm to end all sh*tstorms, because you'll go back to prison. "