''Sneaky Pete'' is an American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

series created by

David Shore David Shore (born July 3, 1959) is a Canadian television writer. Shore worked on ''Family Law'', ''NYPD Blue'' and ''Due South'', also producing many episodes of the latter. He created the critically acclaimed series ''House'' and more recently, ...

and

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...

. The series follows Marius Josipović (

Giovanni Ribisi Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), '' Ted'' (2012) and its sequel '' Ted 2'' (2 ...

), a released convict who adopts the identity of his cellmate, Pete Murphy, to avoid his past life. The series also stars

Marin Ireland Marin Yvonne Ireland is an American actress. Known for her work in theatre and independent films, ''The New York Times'' deemed Ireland "one of the great drama queens of the New York stage". Her accolades include a Theatre World Award and nomina ...

, Shane McRae, Libe Barer, Michael Drayer,

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety (born May 17, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known as Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Career Gerety is a veteran of stage, screen and television. In early 1992, he performed to critical acclaim on Broadway ...

and

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...

. The

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

debuted on August 7, 2015, and was followed by a full series order that September. Shore left the project in early 2016 and was replaced by

Graham Yost Graham John Yost (born September 5, 1959) is a Canadian film and television screenwriter. His best-known works are the films ''Speed'', '' Broken Arrow'', and '' Hard Rain'' and the TV series '' Justified''. Early life, family and education Yo ...

, who served as executive producer and showrunner for the remaining nine episodes. The first season premiered in its entirety on January 13, 2017, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. On January 19, 2017, Amazon announced that ''Sneaky Pete'' had been renewed for a second season, which was released on March 9, 2018. On July 28, 2018, Amazon announced that the series had been renewed for a third season, which was released on May 10, 2019. On June 4, 2019, Amazon cancelled the series after three seasons.

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".

Cast and characters

Main

as Marius Josipović / Pete Murphy *

as Julia Bowman * Shane McRae as Taylor Bowman * Libe Barer as Carly Bowman * Michael Drayer as Eddie Josipović (season 1) *

as Otto Bernhardt *

as Audrey Bernhardt * Jane Adams as Maggie Murphy (season 2, guest season 3)

Recurring

Ethan Embry Ethan Embry (born June 13, 1978) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his role as Mark in ''Empire Records'', Preston in '' Can't Hardly Wait'', The Bass Player in ''That Thing You Do!'', and as Bobby Ray in '' Sweet Home A ...

as the real Pete Murphy *

as Vince Lonigan (season 1) *

Victor Williams Victor L. Williams (born September 19, 1970) is an American actor best known as Doug Heffernan's (Kevin James) best friend Deacon Palmer on ''The King of Queens.'' He has also appeared on several other hit TV shows, including '' Homicide: Life ...

as Richard (season 1) *

Karolina Wydra Karolina Wydra ( ; born March 5, 1981) is a Polish-American actress and model. She played Dominika Petrova on the Fox medical drama series '' House'', and vampire Violet Mazurski on the HBO dark fantasy series ''True Blood''. Wydra has starred ...

as Karolina (season 1) *

Jacob Pitts Jacob Rives Pitts (born November 20, 1979) is an American television, film and stage actor. His most notable performances were as Cooper Harris in the film '' EuroTrip'' (2004), as Bill "Hoosier" Smith in the HBO miniseries '' The Pacific'' (2010 ...

as Lance Lord *

Michael O'Keefe Michael O'Keefe (born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr.; April 24, 1955) is an American actor, known for his roles as Danny Noonan in '' Caddyshack'', Ben Meechum in '' The Great Santini,'' for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for B ...

as Detective Winslow (season 1) * Virginia Kull as Katie Boyd (season 1, guest season 2) *

Alison Wright Alison Wright (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. She is best known for her starring role as Martha Hanson on the FX period spy drama series ''The Americans'' (2013–2017), for which she received critical acclaim and earned a Primeti ...

as Marjorie * Mike Houston as Dennis * Tobias Segal as Sean *

Brad William Henke Brad William Henke (April 10, 1966 – November 29, 2022) was an American actor and National Football League and Arena Football League player. He was best known for his role as Corrections Officer Desi Piscatella on ''Orange Is the New Black'', f ...

as Brendon Boyd (season 1) * Jeté Laurence as Ellen *

Justine Cotsonas Justine Cotsonas (born May 31, 1985) is an American actress. She was born in Mineola, New York. Cotsonas attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned a BFA degree in January 2007. She joined the cast of ''As the Worl ...

as Shannon * Kevin Chapman as Bo Lockley *

Jay O. Sanders Jay Olcutt Sanders (born April 16, 1953) is an American film, theatre and television actor and playwright. He frequently appears in plays off-Broadway at The Public Theatre. Early life and education Sanders was born on April 16, 1953 in Austin, ...

as Sam *

Chaske Spencer Chaske Spencer (pronounced ''Chess-Kay''; born March 9, 1975) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Sam Uley in '' The Twilight Saga'' film series (2009–2012), Teddo in the acclaimed film ''Wild Indian'', and for his r ...

as Chayton Dockery * René Ifrah as Wali * Jasmine Carmichael as Gina (seasons 1-2) * Pej Vahdat as Raj Kumar Mukherjee (season 1) * Max Darwin as Tate * Jeffrey De Serrano as Ayawamat *

Malcolm-Jamal Warner Malcolm-Jamal Warner (born August 18, 1970) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'', which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series a ...

as James Bagwell *

C.S. Lee Charles Seung-hee Lee (; born December 30, 1971), known professionally as C. S. Lee, is an American actor and comedian. He is perhaps best known for playing sex-obsessed forensics analyst Vince Masuka on the Showtime drama series ''Dexter''. ...

as Joseph Lee (seasons 1-2) *

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (born October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. Vereen gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received a T ...

as Leon Porter (seasons 1-2) *

Domenick Lombardozzi Domenico "Domenick" Lombardozzi (, ; born March 25, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Herc in ''The Wire'', and is also known for his roles in ''A Bronx Tale'' (1993), '' Entourage'', and ''The Irishman'' (2019). Ca ...

as Abraham Persikof (season 1) *

Debra Monk Debra Monk (born February 27, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and writer, best known for her performances on the Broadway stage. She earned her first Tony Award for the 1993 production of ''Redwood Curtain'' and won an Emmy Award for sev ...

as Connie Persikof (season 1) * Joseph Lyle Taylor as Frank (seasons 1-2) *Michael DeMello as Mikey (season 1) *

Desmond Harrington Desmond Harrington (born October 19, 1976) is an American actor. He has appeared in '' The Hole'' (2001), ''Ghost Ship'' (2002), and '' Wrong Turn'' (2003), Desmond joined the cast of the Showtime series '' Dexter'' in its third season, as D ...

as Joe (seasons 1-2) * David Kallaway as Bako (season 2) * Jesse Lenat as AJ * Michael Oberholtzer as Colin (season 2) *

Jennifer Ferrin Jennifer Ferrin (born February 25, 1979) is an American actress. Early life and education Ferrin was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She attended Brookwood High where she was the lead in many high school plays and was a member of the choir. Up ...

as Joyce Roby (season 2) * Miriam Morales as Teacher (season 2) *

John Ales John Ales (born January 3, 1969) is an American actor best known for appearing in '' Spy Hard'', '' The Nutty Professor'', '' You Wish'', and other films and television series. Filmography Film *''Crime Killer'' (1985) ... Kids *'' Spy Hard'' ...

as Luka Delchev (season 2) * Sara Tomko as Suzanne (season 2) * Chris Ashworth as Miro (season 2) *

Justine Lupe Justine Lupe-Schomp is an American actress. She is known for her roles on ''Mr. Mercedes'', ''Succession'', '' Cristela'', and '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel''. Early life Lupe grew up in Denver, Colorado. She is a 2007 graduate of Denver School o ...

as Hannah (season 2) *

Efrat Dor Efrat Dor ( he, אפרת דור; born 6 January 1983) is an Israeli actress. She is best known for portraying Magdalena Gross in the film '' The Zookeeper’s Wife'', as Lizzie DeLaurentis in the Amazon show ''Sneaky Pete'', and as Eva McCulloc ...

as Lizzie DeLaurentis (season 3) *

Jeff Ross Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz (born September 13, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known as the "Roastmaster General" for his insult comedy, his multiple appearances at celebrity roasts held by the New York Friars Club, the ...

as D.C. Doug Decker (season 3) *

Leonardo Nam Leonardo Nam (born November 5, 1979) is an Australian actor. He made his breakthrough as Roy in '' The Perfect Score'' (2004), and gained further recognition for his roles as Morimoto in '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) and Bria ...

as Alexandre Park-Sun (season 3) *

Ricky Jay Richard Jay Potash (June 26, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American stage magician, actor and writer. In a profile for ''The New Yorker'', Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleight ...

as T. H. Vignetti (season 3). This was Jay's last performance before his death in 2018. *

Darren Pettie Darren is a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an Anglicisation of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "Oak Tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come from ...

as Chuck Johnson (season 3) *

Stephanie Faracy Stephanie Faracy (born January 1, 1952) is an American actress. She is known for playing supporting roles in films include '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978), ''Scavenger Hunt'' (1979), ''Blind Date'' (1987), '' The Great Outdoors'' (1988), '' Hocus Pocu ...

as Dotti (season 3) *

Charlayne Woodard Charlaine "Charlayne" Woodard (born December 29, 1953) is an American playwright and actress. She is a two-time Obie Award winner as well as a Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee. She was a series regular on the hit FX TV series Pose. She played ...

as Hickey (season 3) * Amy Landecker as Lorraine Sheffield (season 3) * M. Emmet Walsh as Tex Hopkins (season 3) * Patrick J. Adams as Stefan Kilbane (season 3)

Guest

Rory Culkin Rory Hugh Culkin (born July 21, 1989) is an American actor who is known for his roles in '' Scream 4'', '' Lords of Chaos'', '' You Can Count on Me'', ''Columbus'', and M. Night Shyamalan's '' Signs''. He is the younger brother of actors Macaulay ...

as Gavin *

Wayne Duvall Wayne Duvall (born May 29, 1958) is an American actor known for appearing as Homer Stokes in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'', as well recurring roles as the television series ''Billions'', ''The District'', ''The Leftovers'', ''BrainDead'', ''The R ...

as Charles McGregor * Steve Wiebe as Stephen Davidson

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2015–17)

Season 2 (2018)

Season 3 (2019)

Production

Development

In November 2014, CBS gave a production commitment to ''Sneaky Pete''. A formal pilot for the show was shot in New York in March 2015. On May 8, CBS decided to pass on the pilot, while also canceling David Shore's other series on the network, ''

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...

''. Just two days later, it was reported that the pilot might be moving to cable networks, with many expressing interest. 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. The pilot was released on Amazon on August 7, 2015 and was ordered to series on September 2, 2015. In March 2016, it was announced that Shore would be leaving the project, and would be replaced by

, 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. Episode 2 and the remainder of the first season premiered on January 13, 2017.

Reception

Critical response

The first season of ''Sneaky Pete'' received positive reviews from critics.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave the first season a 97% 'Certified Fresh' rating, based on 31 critic reviews, with the critical consensus "Suspenseful, smart, and terrifically cast, ''Sneaky Pete'' is part dramedy, part crime caper, and all in all entertaining."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

gave the first season a 77 out of 100 score based on 22 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The second season of ''Sneaky Pete'' received positive critical reviews as well.

gave the second season a 92% 'Fresh' rating, based on 12 critic reviews, with the critical consensus "''Sneaky Petes sophomore season replicates its predecessor's finesse with narrative sleight of hand and deliciously twisted capers, although Bryan Cranston's gravitas is sorely missed." The third season of ''Sneaky Pete'' continued to receive positive critical reviews, with

giving it 100% 'Fresh' rating, based on 5 critic reviews.

Awards and nominations

was nominated for her performance for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the

8th Critics' Choice Television Awards The 23rd Critics' Choice Awards were presented on January 11, 2018 at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport, honoring the finest achievements of filmmaking and television programming in 2017. The ceremony was broadcast on The CW and hosted ...

in 2017.

References

External links

* * {{Amazon Video original series 2010s American crime drama television series 2015 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings Amazon Prime Video original programming English-language television shows Television series by Amazon Studios Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Connecticut