11 underrated shows you probably aren’t watching but should be
By Sundi Rose
Sneaky Pete, Amazon
The premise: Gionvanni Ribisi plays Marius (then Pete), a former con man who has just been released from prison, but can’t return to his old life because he’s in trouble with a local mob boss, played by a very dapper Brian Cranston. Instead of returning to his life in the city, he assumes the life of his cellmate, Pete, and heads to Pete’s family home to pretend he’s the long-lost cousin, returning home to work in the family’s bail bonds business.
Marius tries to stay below the radar in his new identity, but his grandmother (Margo Martindale) is involved in her own shady dealings, and Marius gets sucked into her criminal drama. Meanwhile, his brother is leverage to his old life, so he must juggle his double identity while he tries to sort out all the criminality on both fronts.
Why you’ll love it: The tension is so good. You’re constantly on the edge of your seat, as Marius/Pete pulls one con after another. It’s so smartly executed that you can feel the anxiety wafting directly off the characters, through the screen, and directly onto your chest. Ribisi is magic as he convincingly plays two characters, and makes you actively root for both of them. Yes, he’s the liar and the cheat of the series, but he’s also going to be your adorable new fave. It’s also a complicated mystery with layer after layer of twists and turns. You won’t be able to see the big twist coming, mostly because you’ll be too distracted ‘shipping the pretend cousins.
How to watch: You can watch Sneaky Pete on Amazon Prime.