August 7, 2015 (2015-08-07) – May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10)
Sneaky Pete is an American crime drama series created by David Shore and Bryan Cranston. The series follows Marius Josipović (Giovanni Ribisi), a released convict who adopts the identity of his cellmate, Pete Murphy, to avoid his past life. The series also stars Marin Ireland, Shane McRae, Libe Barer, Michael Drayer, Peter Gerety and Margo Martindale. The pilot debuted on August 7, 2015, and was followed by a full series order that September.[1] Shore left the project in early 2016 and was replaced by Graham Yost, who served as executive producer and showrunner for the remaining nine episodes.[2] The first season premiered in its entirety on January 13, 2017, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.[3] On January 19, 2017, Amazon announced that Sneaky Pete had been renewed for a second season, which was released on March 9, 2018.[4][5] On July 28, 2018, Amazon announced that the series had been renewed for a third season, which was released on May 10, 2019.[6][7]
On June 4, 2019, Amazon cancelled the series after three seasons.[8]
Premise
Sneaky Pete follows Marius, a con man who gets out of prison only to find himself hunted by the vicious gangster he once robbed. With nowhere else to turn, Marius takes cover from his past by assuming the identity of his cellmate, Pete and then "reunites" with Pete's estranged family – who have no reason to suspect he is not their long-lost loved one".[9]
On the run from vicious gangster Vince Lonigan (Bryan Cranston), con man Marius Josipovic (Giovanni Ribisi) takes cover from his past by assuming the identity of his prison cellmate, Pete (Ethan Embry), who has talked so much about this family that Marius thinks he knows enough about them to pull it off. He meets and moves in with Pete's estranged family, who believe him to be Pete.
As their bail bonds business continues to not do so well, tensions rise between Pete's grandparents, Otto (Peter Gerety) and Audrey (Margo Martindale). Marius proposes a risky play to help "cousin" Julia (Marin Ireland) manage a dangerous client, but when they encounter problems, the "cousins" must rely on Audrey's expertise. While evading a mysterious pursuer, Marius visits former partners Katie (Virginia Kull) and Karolina (Karolina Wydra) in NYC and remembers how three years ago, he made a powerful enemy in Vince by trying to work an unsuccessful "con" on him.
Marius' parole officer (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) insists that he come into the city for a mandatory appointment. To get there on time, Marius must fend off Pete's curious cousins, including an increasingly suspicious Audrey. Meanwhile, Marius' brother Eddie (Michael Drayer) is still held captive by Vince. Winslow (Michael O'Keefe), an NYPD detective on Vince's payroll, hunts for Marius, and Katie helps Marius cover his tracks.
Lured by the promise of a big payday in the bail bonds office safe, Marius tries to work the angles with Pete's family. However, he finds it more difficult than expected to manipulate Taylor (Shane McRae), who harbors both a hair-trigger temper and a dangerous secret of his own: he is sleeping with the wife of a high school enemy who owns a competing bail bonds business. Back in the city, Vince struggles with a difficult client at the poker table and takes his frustrations out on his crew.
Audrey and Otto argue over Audrey's unilateral decisions, the fallout from which may cost them their business. In the process of helping Otto investigate one of his suspicions, Marius makes a major discovery about Audrey's finances. Meanwhile, Carly (Libe Barer) quizzes Marius/Pete about his past, while Julia rekindles her relationship with ex-husband Lance (Jacob Pitts).
When the Dockery case gets favorably resolved in court, Bernhardt Bail Bonds struggles to recover the money they put up as collateral, as they need to return it to Dockery (Chaske Spencer). Fearing major problems if they can't come up with the money, Otto visits old friends on the local Indian reservation, and Marius recruits younger talent to help. An outside source leads Carly to unearth a major secret about Marius/Pete, and Julia must decide whether she can trust Lance again.
As they struggle to save the family business, Audrey strategizes with Marius, while Otto insists on doing things his way. Confronted by Carly's discoveries, Marius pays visits to both his old mentor and his former cellmate to backstop his identity as Pete. Taylor gathers evidence about the incident that left him suspended from the force, and Winslow follows Marius' trail to Katie and her family.
After discovering that Audrey risked Bernhardt Bail Bonds's future on a fraudulent investment engineered by Lance, Marius convinces her and Julia to con back the money from Lance. Unbeknownst to Audrey and Marius, Otto decides to hire a hit man to kill him so that his family can collect on his life insurance. Meanwhile, Katie and her husband Brendon (Brad William Henke) hold Winslow bound and gagged in their basement.
Otto's plan to get himself killed goes awry, and the person who was supposed to execute Otto ends up dead at the hands of Dockery's henchman. Otto, Marius, and Lance are left at the mercy of Dockery, who wants his collateral money back. Meanwhile, Vince comes up with a new plan to catch a cheater at his table.
10
10
"The Longest Day"
Michael Dinner
Story by : Graham Yost Teleplay by : Fred Golan
January 13, 2017 (2017-01-13)
With all of the pieces in place, Marius sits down at Vince's poker table for one final con. Everything is going according to plan, until Vince becomes suspicious that he's seen this play before, stops the game, and instructs everyone else at his other poker tables to leave the premises. When Audrey finds herself involved in Winslow's death, she must go against her instincts and trust Taylor to help her manage the situation.
After being seized by two mercenaries who think Marius is really Pete (Ethan Embry), Marius sees an opportunity searching for Pete's mother Maggie (Jane Adams) and the eleven million dollars she stole from their employer. Meanwhile, Audrey and Otto deal with the fallout from Winslow's death, and Julia struggles to keep her promise to Dockery.
In order to get more information on Maggie, Marius and Marjorie (Alison Wright) take on the prison system in an attempt to free Pete. Taylor meets NYPD detective Joyce Roby, who has come to Connecticut to investigate Winslow's death. Otto and Sam do a favor for Irish Moe.
Marius tries to contain the newly emancipated Pete and pump him for information on Maggie. Frank and Joe (Joseph Lyle Taylor and Desmond Harrigton respectively) tighten their grip on family surveillance. Colin, the son of the dead hit man appears, wanting to know what happened to his father. Carly tries to investigate further into Marius Josipovic. Taylor struggles to keep Roby from learning about Audrey's involvement with the Winslow case.
Marius leads Frank and Joe to Maggie's suspected hideaway in the psychic town of Rosedale, New York. Taylor and Roby head back to the scene of the Winslow crime. Otto becomes hostage to the hitman's son. Julia works a lead to find Lance and force him to cooperate in a plan to help her launder money.
Marius tries to find Maggie while also trying to evade Frank and Joe. Just as Julia discovers the solution to her money problem, she finds herself in deeper trouble. A new development in the Winslow investigation starts to turn Roby in Audrey's direction. Carly seeks a connection to her parents and gets more than she bargained for.
Maggie's return to the Bernhardt homestead leads to old family tensions resurfacing. As Marius tries to pry the location of the money from Maggie, they are grabbed by FBI agents. Taylor and Shannon's relationship begins to drift. Frustrated by their inability to find his money, Luka shows Frank and Joe that he's not playing games, and kills Joe.
With the location of the money revealed, Marius makes a bold move to snatch it all for himself, but Maggie and Luka are not so easily fooled. Taylor makes plans to frame the hitman for Winslow's murder and save Audrey. Carly turns to Maggie in search of an otherworldly connection to her parents. Julia's new bondee proves more of a challenge than she anticipated. Otto and Sam (Jay O. Sanders) find that their Colin troubles are far from over.
Story by : Graham Yost Teleplay by : Ingrid Escajeda
March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Jealous of Marius' relationship with his family, Pete threatens to implode the heist unless he is granted a special request. Otto and Sam retrieve the Proclamation, but discover the larger threat that Colin poses to Julia. Audrey's suspicions about Maggie and Marius come to a head.
After Marius' "Roosevelt Buffalo" plan works too well, the heist's fate is left in Pete's hands. Carly and Audrey investigate Marius and Maggie's motives for returning to the family. Julia enlists the aid of Otto, Sam, and Lance in protecting Valerie from Colin. Taylor takes the final steps to frame the hitman for Winslow's death, and hopefully save Audrey.
Marius' plan implodes as it becomes clear he was wrong about the money's location, and must now face Luka (John Ales)'s wrath. Julia, Valerie, Otto, and Sam square off with Colin and Ayawamat at the storage facility. Audrey discovers the danger of Luka and rushes to protect her family. Roby closes the Winslow case, although she hints that she knows that Audrey must have been involved. Maggie gives Carly new information about what happened to her parents.
In November 2014, CBS gave a production commitment to Sneaky Pete.[13] A formal pilot for the show was shot in New York in March 2015.[14] On May 8, CBS decided to pass on the pilot, while also canceling David Shore's other series on the network, Battle Creek.[15] Just two days later, it was reported that the pilot might be moving to cable networks, with many expressing interest.[16]
In June, it was reported that Amazon was in negotiations to pick up the pilot, with some tweaking and possible minor reshoots before being made available to the viewers.[17] The pilot was released on Amazon on August 7, 2015 and was ordered to series on September 2, 2015.[18]
In March 2016, it was announced that Shore would be leaving the project, and would be replaced by Graham Yost, who would be taking over as executive producer and showrunner. Start of production of the full series was pushed back to allow for the transition.[2]
Episode 2 and the remainder of the first season premiered on January 13, 2017.[3]
Reception
Critical response
The first season of Sneaky Pete received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season a 97% rating, based on 31 critics’ reviews, with the critical consensus "Suspenseful, smart, and terrifically cast, Sneaky Pete is part dramedy, part crime caper, and all in all entertaining."[19]Metacritic gave the first season a 77 out of 100 score based on 22 critic reviews.[20]
The second season of Sneaky Pete received positive critical reviews as well. Rotten Tomatoes gave the second season a 92% rating, based on 12 critic reviews, with the critical consensus "Sneaky Pete's sophomore season replicates its predecessor's finesse with narrative sleight of hand and deliciously twisted capers, although Bryan Cranston's gravitas is sorely missed."[21]
The third season of Sneaky Pete continued to receive positive critical reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it 100% rating, based on five critic reviews.[22]
