Sneaky Pete is a show about a con who is trying to get out of a con, while working on a con, while living with a family of cons, that leads to more cons. Sound confusing? It’s actually not! Sneaky Pete is a campy crime drama currently streaming on Amazon. The story revolves around Marius, (Giovanni Ribisi) an expert con who is just being released from prison. While in prison Marius meets Pete, who’s fond of his childhood and recounts stories of his grandparent’s farm. Through the stories Pete tells, Marius learns of some family fortunes that Pete’s grandparents have been holding onto. That then leads Marius to assume the identity of Pete and become the long-lost grandson that hasn’t been seen in 20 years. From there, we get a twisting and turning tale that is engaging and fun.
The story of the show is the real shining point. You have two big plotlines moving at the same time. One, a deep focus on Pete’s family and their bail bonds business, and the other a gritty underground casino vibe led by Bryan Cranston, who plays the hothead Vince. Both are important and interesting enough to keep the watcher clicking on the “next episode” arrow. In season two, we see Marius deal with a whole new load of issues that pertain to Pete’s family, and he is pulled into a web of secrets and mystery.
In Sneaky Pete, there is always a clock running, and someone’s life is always threatened. This makes the show’s urgency very apparent, and a great format for television. It makes you care about every character and every small detail. All in all, this is a show about cons, and to me, that is the most entertaining part of the series.
My only restraints from giving this show a higher rating is the familiarity of it all. It has an excellent story, but I feel as those it sits in tropes that we have seen in similar tv shows a lot. Does it do this style well? Absolutely. But I’d have to say that no ceilings are being shattered through this series.
The story would certainly not be important if it wasn’t convincing. Thankfully, Sneaky Pete has a great roster of emotional actors that make this story real to the viewer. There are some extended monologues that really push the acting limits of the cast. I never felt detached in these moments, and they really did a great job of making these scenes important.
An important note is that season 2 keeps the same level of excellence as the first did. That makes it feel very cohesive and run very well in a streaming format. There are not too many stylistic or artistic differences, so it feels like the cast just kept producing the show immediately after the first season.
Sneaky Pete is a great show about a con who gets tied up in too many things at once and has to learn to effectively juggle them all simultaneously. It’s funny, intense, well-acted, and exciting. It’s a great show for fans of crime dramas and heist films. The acting is great, and the writers definitely know what they are doing. If you have Amazon Prime, Sneaky Pete is an excellent show to check out.
