Sneaky Pete

Sneaky Pete was so much better than I expected it to be. It was one of the first series for Amazon before it became such a powerful streaming service so it was promoted the way it would be today so a lot of people haven't heard about it. Giovanni Ribisi plays a con man named Marius Josipovic who takes on the identity of his cellmate and goes into hiding with his estranged family from a gangster. The way they set up and execute the cons are fascinating. Ribisi is just phenomenal in this, it's probably his best role of his career. This series is so good that I binged all three seasons as fast as I could and it left me wanting more. If you haven't seen this yet then do yourself a favor and watch this as soon as you can.

EN: Sneaky Pete is one of those shows that hooks you right from the start. I found myself binging multiple episodes back-to-back without even noticing. The story follows Marius, a con artist on the run, who takes on the identity of his cellmate, Pete. What really drew me in was the clever cons. Each scheme was like watching a well-planned puzzle come together, full of surprises that kept me on the edge of my seat. It's a pity the series was canceled after just three seasons because it had so much potential.

While the third season wasn't as strong as the first two, the show overall is definitely worth watching. The characters are well-developed, the schemes are smart, and Bryan Cranston, as always, is excellent. He brings the same kind of brilliance to this series that he did to Breaking Bad. Even though the third season was a bit weaker, Sneaky Pete deserved a proper ending. At the very least, a movie could have wrapped up the story. Despite that, I highly recommend this show. It's an entertaining and addictive series with a talented cast and some truly clever cons.

I have been looking forward to S3 for a while since I binge-watched the first two last year. Those 20 episodes contain some of the most fast-paced, tense and almost anxiety-inducing elements in a TV show since - dare I say it - "Breaking Bad". Lots of tremendous acting especially by Giovanni Ribisi, great characters, setups and mini-payoffs building up to a grand finale for each season.

S3 was off to a great start and I whipped through the first 4 episodes in a row but honestly, I started losing general interest halfway through. Ribisi and McRae visibly grow tired of their respective characters and there are lot of strange, forced throwaway scenes. Overall the acting/writing sort of just fizzles towards the end with each mini-payoff just barely necessary to a climax half as exciting compared to the previous seasons.

I noticed a complete lack of return of the writing and production staff from those first two seasons - especially Graham Yost, a master screenwriter of the fast-paced action-thriller genre. There are a couple of great moments especially in the beginning but overall not nearly as good as the first two seasons. The show needs to do itself a favor and get Yost back in the screenwriting chair for the next season if there is one.

Unfortunately S3 knocks my IMDb rating down to a 7 for overall show - S1/2 are a solid 9.

Any show with Margo Martindale in it is well worth watching I have never seen her in a less that outstanding show. Just finished season three of Sneaky Pete which I thoroughly enjoyed. Hope it has a few more series to run. Acting is uniformly excellent, story is great and moves along at a clip to keep you engaged in what is going on. Great all around show AMazon. AMZN is good at making series like this.

Excellent cast and script. Doesn't disappoint. Great choice for your next binge.