Steal, on Prime Video

The truth is governments steal from pension funds all the time. It’s politely called inflation. You could say these armed robbers are more honest about it. They force the money managers at Lochwood Capital to transfer four billion Pounds to an offshore account. Obviously, that sort of job requires an inside person. Zara Dunne would like to know who that is. Technically, she was the one that facilitated the larcenous transaction, admittedly at gunpoint. Consequently, her position becomes rather awkward during the aftermath in creator-writer Sotiris Nikias’s six-episode Steal, which premieres tomorrow on Prime Video.

The actual heist only takes one episode. Somehow, the gang knew Lochwood had temporarily moved 4 billion into cash accounts—and they chose the one day of the week when the executive committee meets, so they could approve the transfer (under duress). They still needed someone in operations to assure the bank everything was on the up and up. Dunne’s office pal Luke started the transfer, but when he froze, she stepped up. Initially, everyone was grateful for her quick thinking, but once the armed robbers left, the dire implications—for union and government pensioners—inevitably set in.

DCI Rhys Covac sounds reassuring while interviewing witnesses, but he has almost no leads to follow, thanks to the gang’s precautions, like prosthetics that defeat facial recognition software. It also seems like Covac is being set-up to fail, especially when MI-5 muscles in on the case. The DCI must also deal with the pressure of his gambling debts, which he must pay-off in seven days, or they will be sold off to underworld leg-breakers.

It is pretty obvious to DCI Covac and Darren Yoshida, the forensic financial crime investigator, that Dunne is not a particularly reliable witness, for various reasons, including her multiple personal and professional grievances. Nevertheless, Dunne reluctantly starts cooperating with Covac, after witnessing strong-arm tactics from both the robbers and MI-5.

Despite the tiresome whining over capital markets (as if any income not generated toiling in a factory or on a farm is necessarily illegitimate), Steal is grabby caper thriller that focuses on the getaway rather than the step-by-step planning and execution. The shadowy political and corporate intrigue duly keeps viewers guessing. Covac is also compellingly flawed. However, Nikias so thoroughly establishes Dunne’s unlikable loser status, spending screentime with her gets to be a real chore.

Nevertheless, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Sophie Turner develop an interesting rhythm playing off each other as Covac and Dunne. Archie Madekwe’s portrayal of luckless Luke is even drippier than downbeat Dunne. However, Andrew Koji consistently raises the series’ intelligence level with his quietly intense portrayal of Yoshida. Harry Mitchell is perfectly cast as the well-heeled twit of a trader, Milo Carter-Walsh. Plus, Peter Mullan gleefully chews the scenery in his all too brief appearance as Sir Toby Gould, an arms dealer ironically dragged into the investigation through an odd chain of events.

Series directors Sam Miller and Hettie Macdonald maintain a super-slick vibe, suggesting they each took inspiration from Michael Mann’s Heat and vintage Miami Vice episodes. There are several big revelations, including a couple of early embargoed twists. Recommended for the good capery stuff, but not as a primer on financial policy, Steal starts streaming Wednesday (1/21) on Prime Video.