--- title: "Lucky" year: 2026 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/lucky" fi1m_id: "lucky" imdb_id: "tt34866681" tmdb_id: 278624 wikidata_id: "Q131378846" fi1m_score: 57 critics_score: 52 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-10" updated: "2026-09-17T20:42:35.281841+00:00" region: "CL" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Lucky (2026) Created by Jonathan Tropper · CCC R · Drama, Crime ## Identity Lucky - **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/lucky - **Type:** Series - **Fi1m ID:** lucky - **IMDb ID:** tt34866681 - **TMDB ID:** 278624 - **Wikidata ID:** Q131378846 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34866681/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/278624, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131378846 **Fi1m score: 57** · Critics 52 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* Anya Taylor-Joy changes wig, name and state every episode, and the show still cannot decide who she is > Anya Taylor-Joy gives this seven-part con-artist chase a lead worth following, and the first episode moves with real snap. After that the series repeats itself, explains itself, and never finds out what it is about beyond the running. ## Synopsis Luciana Armstrong, known as Lucky (Anya Taylor-Joy), is a con artist who has spent her life changing names and cities. A heist goes wrong, someone she trusted sells her out, and she is left running with the money everyone wants. Behind her come the Mastersons, a criminal family headed by Priscilla (Annette Bening), and the FBI, led by Agent Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor). Timothy Olyphant plays John Armstrong, Clifton Collins Jr. plays Harris Dutch and Drew Starkey is Cary Masterson. Adapted from Marissa Stapley’s novel, the series runs seven episodes and carries a 15 certificate. ## Review Marissa Stapley’s novel becomes a seven-episode series in which Anya Taylor-Joy plays Luciana Armstrong, called Lucky, a con artist who walks out of a heist betrayed and with everybody after her. On one side are the Mastersons, a criminal family run by Annette Bening’s Priscilla. On the other is the FBI, in the shape of Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor’s Agent Billie Rand and Mo McRae’s Agent Eli Gates. It is a chase, and for one episode it is a good one. Then it settles into a pattern it never breaks: new town, new name, somebody catching up, and by the middle of the run we could have set a watch by it. Taylor-Joy is the reason to stay. She plays each of Lucky’s identities as a different set of habits rather than a different voice: how she stands in a doorway, how long she lets a stranger look at her before she looks back. The pleasure is watching her choose, and she never lets us see the choosing until it is done. It is a controlled, unshowy piece of work in a show that is neither of those things, and it is better than the scripts it is serving. Bening has fun. Her Priscilla is polite, expensively dressed by Christine Wada, and unhurried in a way that reads as a threat, and whenever the series remembers she exists it improves. Ellis-Taylor plays Rand as tired, patient and unimpressed, the one person on screen who behaves like an adult with a job. Clifton Collins Jr. does more with Harris Dutch than the writing gives him. Drew Starkey’s Cary Masterson is the one the camera likes and the script does not bother with. Timothy Olyphant’s John Armstrong belongs largely to the flashbacks, alongside Quinn Aune as the young Lucky, and the flashbacks are where the writing is weakest, each one landing exactly the lesson you expect. Three directors, Jet Wilkinson, Jonathan van Tulleken and Greg Yaitanes, share the seven episodes, and five editors share the cutting. The seams show. The opening episode has a tempo the later ones keep reaching for and not finding. Yaron Orbach and Doug Emmett shoot the road and the rooms cleanly, and Keith P. Cunningham’s production design gives us motels, bars and back offices that would serve any crime series of the last twenty years, which is the trouble: nothing in the frame belongs to this story alone. Isabella Summers’s score drives hard under the chases and drops out when the show reaches for feeling, and that restraint is the right call even when what is under it is thin. Here is what we felt. The first episode’s set piece had us leaning forward, glad to be watching, sure we were in good hands. By the fourth episode we were bored, and then we were irritated at being bored, because everything needed was there: a lead who can hold a screen alone, two proper antagonists, a premise that has fed good films for fifty years. What was missing was anybody deciding what Lucky wants beyond the next exit. The writing keeps stopping to explain. Who the Mastersons are, what was taken, who is owed what by whom: every second scene is a briefing, and the details of the syndicate get more tangled the more time is spent on them. Meanwhile the thing the genre lives on, the con itself, the small performance for a small audience, gets less room each hour. *Paper Moon* (1973) and [*The Grifters*](https://film.one/film/the-grifters) (1990) understood that the lies are the character. Here the plot does the talking and the character waits in the car. The reviews so far are split, some finding it gripping, others finding it assembled from better crime stories, and we sit unhappily in the middle. There is a tight, nasty four-episode series in here, and we would have liked to see it. Watch the first episode, which earns its length. If Taylor-Joy is enough to carry you through the rest, she is good enough to do it. If not, you will know by the end of episode two, and the show will not change your mind. *Fi1m score 57, published 10 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews split almost exactly down the middle, so there is no lean to report, only a division. What critics do agree on is Anya Taylor-Joy. Nearly every review finds her committed and watchable as the con artist on the run, slipping between personae with ease, and several credit her with carrying scenes the writing does not. The action sequences are the other point of agreement: the set-pieces, particularly in the opening episode, are called tense and well staged even by critics who like little else about the series. The reservations gather around the writing. The negative reviews find the series thin on character, heavy on exposition and stretched too far across seven episodes. IndieWire and Vulture both argue that the plot moves fast at the expense of anyone worth caring about, while The Telegraph goes further and calls it a cliché-ridden Tarantino imitation assembled from better work. The spread is wide: four warm reviews, four firmly dismissive, and only Collider in the middle. ## Straight answers **Is Lucky worth watching?** *Lucky* is worth watching only for Anya Taylor-Joy, whose lead performance is better than the seven episodes around it, and we scored it 57. The first episode moves with real snap; after that the series repeats one pattern, new town, new name, someone catching up, and stops to explain itself every second scene. Watch the opener, and you will know by episode two whether she is enough. **How long is Lucky, and what is it rated?** *Lucky* is rated R by the CCC in Chile. It is a drama and crime series. **Where can I watch Lucky in Chile?** *Lucky* is streaming on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video in Chile. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Lucky, and is it suitable for children?** *Lucky* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and TV-MA in the US, so it is not for children. It is a crime drama built on a heist gone wrong, a criminal family and an FBI pursuit, with chases and threat rather than sustained horror. Older teenagers and adults who can take the standard violence of a crime series will find nothing here beyond what the certificate implies. **How does Lucky compare to The Grifters?** *Lucky* and [*The Grifters*](https://film.one/film/the-grifters) both follow con artists caught between family and the law, and the earlier film is much the better of the two. Stephen Frears keeps his story to a few liars and wastes no scene; the series stretches a similar premise across seven episodes and lets plot briefings crowd out the cons themselves. Choose *The Grifters* for a tight, cruel drama and *Lucky* if you want Taylor-Joy for company over a longer run. **Is Lucky based on a true story or a book?** *Lucky* is based on a novel by Marissa Stapley, not on a true story. The series follows the book's premise of a con artist betrayed after a heist and pursued by a criminal family and the FBI, though we cannot say how closely it keeps to the page. You do not need to have read the novel to follow the show. **What should I watch after Lucky?** After *Lucky*, try [*Paper Moon*](https://film.one/film/paper-moon) (1973, Fi1m 86): The con as character, with a child who out-thinks every adult she meets. Then [*The Grifters*](https://film.one/film/the-grifters) (1990, Fi1m 84): Three liars, one family, and not a wasted scene among them; and [*Widows*](https://film.one/film/widows) (2018, Fi1m 83): A heist built on grief, with women who plan better than the men they replace. ### Reviews we read (9) - **Variety**, Aramide Tinubu (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the Apple TV limited series a captivating story of a young woman's attempt to escape her criminal past. They single out the high-voltage thriller elements and Anya Taylor-Joy's performance as a con artist on the run. [Read](https://variety.com/2026/tv/reviews/lucky-review-apple-tv-anya-taylor-joy-1236806733/) - **The AV Club**, Saloni Gajjar (B-): Anya Taylor-Joy delivers a committed lead performance in this repetitive crime thriller about a scam artist on the run. The premiere's action sequences stand out, but the show struggles with shallow storytelling and over-reliance on exposition. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/lucky-review-anya-taylor-joy-apple-tv) - **The Guardian** (70/100, inferred): The critic praises Anya Taylor-Joy as audacious and undeniably cool in this Apple TV crime thriller about a betrayed conwoman on the run after a heist. They single out the cat-and-mouse thrills, explosive set-pieces, and her competent, morally ambiguous antiheroine for praise while noting plausibility takes a back seat to excitement. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jul/11/lucky-anya-taylor-joy-is-undeniably-cool-in-this-explosive-tale-of-cons-revenge-and-ass-kicking) - **IndieWire**, Ben Travers (30/100, inferred): The series features strong performances but ultimately feels more surface-level than substantive. It follows a con artist navigating betrayals and pursuits but lacks deeper character exploration beyond its propulsive plot. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/lucky-2026-review-anya-taylor-joy-apple-series-1235204918/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Daniel Fienberg (30/100, inferred): The critic concludes that the series never clicks despite a strong cast. They single out the entertaining action sequences and Taylor-Joy's ability to inhabit multiple personae, while noting weaknesses in lighter elements and overall cohesion. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/lucky-review-anya-taylor-joy-apple-tv-1236648186/) - **The Telegraph** (30/100, inferred): The critic calls the Apple TV series a creaky, cliché-ridden Tarantino knock-off that under-serves its lead and feels assembled from better shows and films. They single out the formulaic heist caper plot and generic crime setting for complaint, though one supporting performance stands out for having fun with the material. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/lucky-apple-tv-review/) - **Vulture** (30/100, inferred): The series is a tepid, surface-level crime drama that overloads momentum at the expense of character depth and nuance. It fails to deliver on its promising cast and premise, coming across as an overly stretched book adaptation. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/lucky-apple-tv-series-review.html) - **NME**, Nick Levine (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the seven-part thriller instantly gripping with twists and fun, praising Taylor-Joy's riveting lead performance as a savvy opportunist and the compelling portrayals of the pursuing FBI agent and mob matriarch. Some clichés in flashbacks and convoluted syndicate details are noted, but the constant threat and smart narrative make it work overall. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/lucky-review-anya-taylor-joy-apple-tv-timothy-olyphant-3956962) - **Collider**, Therese Lacson (5/10): The critic notes that while the concept is a winner, the series is built on a shaky foundation and throws everything at the wall without knowing where to hit hardest. It lacks the witty humor and charisma of typical heist stories, resulting in a lackluster show that misses its full potential despite some strong performances. [Read](https://collider.com/lucky-apple-tv-review-anya-taylor-joy/) ## Details - **Created by:** Jonathan Tropper - **Creator:** Jonathan Tropper - **Director:** Jonathan van Tulleken, Jet Wilkinson, Greg Yaitanes - **Writer:** Hilary Bettis, Kevin Rosen, Jonathan Tropper, Mary Anthony, Cassie Pappas, Mark Stasenko, Ariel Levine - **Novel:** Marissa Stapley - **Cinematography:** Doug Emmett, Yaron Orbach - **Editor:** Tyler L. Cook, Byron Smith, Aika Miyake, Eleanor Infante, Jennifer Barbot - **Music:** Isabella Summers - **Production design:** Keith P. Cunningham - **Costume design:** Christine Wada - **Producer:** Meredith L. Ditlow, Marissa Stapley - **Cast:** Anya Taylor-Joy as Luciana 'Lucky' Armstrong; Annette Bening as Priscilla Masterson; Clifton Collins Jr. as Harris Dutch; Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Agent Billie Rand; Timothy Olyphant as John Armstrong; Drew Starkey as Cary Masterson; Mo McRae as Agent Eli Gates; Dean Jagger as Agent Tom Mason - **Certificate (CCC):** R - **Release (Chile):** 14 July 2026 - **Genres:** Drama, Crime - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAbT5qCTXR8 ## Where to watch in Chile - Apple TV: streaming, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd *Checked 2026-09-10.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Paper Moon* (1973), Fi1m 86: The con as character, with a child who out-thinks every adult she meets. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paper-moon.md) - *The Grifters* (1990), Fi1m 84: Three liars, one family, and not a wasted scene among them. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-grifters.md) - *Widows* (2018), Fi1m 83: A heist built on grief, with women who plan better than the men they replace. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/widows.md) - *Ripley* (2024): Another identity thief on the run, filmed slowly and in black and white, to greater effect. - *The Queen's Gambit* (2020), Fi1m 74: Taylor-Joy given a whole series that trusts her stillness. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/the-queens-gambit.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/lucky