‘Dope Thief,’ Netflix’s ‘Electric State,’ ‘Severance’ Picks Up Steam, High Drama on ‘Drag Race’

Dope Thief

Another winner for Apple TV+ in a darkly funny and deeply suspenseful caper starring Atlanta‘s Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura (Narcos) as Ray and Manny, ex-con buddies in Philadelphia with a side hustle of staging small-time drug busts as fake DEA agents. Executive producer Ridley Scott directs the riveting opener, in which their raid of a rural farmhouse-turned-drug lab goes sideways badly, and they realize they’ve crossed the line from “taking candy from babies” to tangling with big-time criminals—and then some. Running for their lives, desperate to protect their loved ones (including the great Kate Mulgrew), these dope thieves know they’re in way over their heads. Launches with two episodes, the latter introducing Ving Rhames as Ray’s jailbird dad.

The Electric State

Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown costars with Chris Pratt and an army of deceptively cute robots (resembling cartoon mascots like Mr. Peanut) in a sci-fi action flick directed by Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Endgame). Set in an alternate 1990s where robots are exiled to the Western desert after an apparent failed uprising, the film follows rebel teen Michelle (Brown) and a smuggler named Keats (Pratt) on a quest to find her genius brother, who may have intel about what really makes the robots tick. It all leads to an epic battle with evil forces led by a nefarious tech CEO (Conclave‘s Stanley Tucci).

Severance

After last week’s detour into the dark past of Harmony Kobel (Patricia Arquette), the trippy sci-fi thriller picks up momentum in Season 2’s penultimate episode when she makes contact with Mark (Adam Scott) on the outside. His greeting: “My wife’s being held prisoner at Lumon and I just got brain surgery in my basement. How have you been?” The severance floor isn’t thrilled that Mark, their “most vital refiner,” is playing hooky, and coworker Dylan (Zach Cherry) is unsettled by his wife Gretchen’s (Merritt Wever) workplace visits. There’s plenty of turmoil as the acclaimed series heads into next Friday’s mind-blowing season finale.

RuPaul’s Drag Race

There’s high drama on the Drag Race stage, this time manufactured, as the queens re-enact the campy scenario portrayed in Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, with judge Ross Mathews subbing for Capote as the elegant “swans” turn on him. Cheyenne Jackson directs the spectacle, with singer Sam Smith the guest judge.

Yellowjackets

How do you solve a problem like a hobbled Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) who’s lost the will to live? That’s the dilemma dividing the tribe of stranded female soccer players, looking to the mysterious forces of the wilderness for guidance. Meanwhile, in present time, Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) packs up her family for safety and becomes obsessed with a new piece of evidence.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• NCIS: Sydney (8/7c, CBS): The team heads to a wellness retreat to investigate the possible suicide of a former U.S. Navy SEAL, which leads to some soul-baring by NCIS agent DeShawn Jackson (Sean Sagar). Followed by Fire Country (9/8c), where Bode (Max Thieriot) and Jake (Jordan Calloway) respond to a lighthouse emergency and try to save a ship from crashing during a storm; and S.W.A.T. (10/9c), with a hostage crisis — there have been so many on TV lately! — at a bus station.
• Happy’s Place (8/7c, NBC): The bar may be working its magic on accountant Steve (Pablo Castelblanco), who announces he’s quitting therapy for his OCD.
• Power Book III: Raising Kanan (8/7c, Starz): Now that the Federal Task Force is off their back, Kanan (Mekai Curtis) and Raq (Patina Miller) get back to deal-making, unaware of their nemesis Unique (Joey Bada$$) laying violent plans for revenge.
• Dateline NBC (9/8c, NBC): Blayne Alexander untangles the twisted tale behind the 2013 murder of middle-school art teacher Desiree Sunford in her Washington home, with evidence of a throuple.
• The Graham Norton Show (11/10c, BBC America): Relive the season’s most memorable moments, with highlights from guests including Cher, Jennifer Lopez, Denzel Washington, Bruce Springsteen, Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña, an assortment of Oscar nominees and many more luminaries.

ON THE STREAM:

• Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years (streaming on Hulu): The comedian, currently making his Broadway debut in Glengarry Glen Ross, delivers one of his most personal stand-up routines, sounding a lot like a midlife crisis.
• I Literally Just Told You (streaming on BritBox): Jimmy Carr hosts a quirky game show where the contestants answer questions written live, testing their memory of what just happened.
• Surface (streaming on Apple TV+): Amnesiac Sophie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is in for a shock when she returns to the Huntley estate.