Apple TV series ‘Lucky’ preserves the novel’s central identity crisis

Apple TV’s “Lucky” (starring Anya Taylor-Joy) adapts Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel about a con artist grappling with her identity and upbringing. In this Hollywood Reporter interview, Stapley discusses the series finale, key differences from the book (including the father-daughter dynamic with Timothy Olyphant’s character), the central theme of breaking free from a life of deception, and her plans for a book sequel that incorporates show-original characters — plus thoughts on a potential Season 2.

Lexy Perez for The Hollywood Reporter:
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“We’ve got different people making different interpretations, but I think we’re all on the same page in terms of who she is,” Stapley says of her novel‘s protagonist portrayal onscreen in the Apple series… “You see her in the book and in the show really grappling with the fact that what her father took away from her was being like anyone else [and] having that inherent trust,” the author explains. Lucky also makes a point to “not hurt people who don’t deserve it. She wants to make reparations, more so in the book, but you do see that in the show where she wants to try to undo some of the harm that she’s done.” The show diverges from the book’s plot, with some of the storytelling mechanics shifting for the screen. The novel, for example, explores a dual timeline of Lucky’s past and present and includes Lucky searching for her mother, who is mentioned to be dead in the series. But the central question surrounding the protagonist remains: If the only life Lucky has ever known is one she no longer wants, who is she without it? To fully understand Lucky requires understanding the relationship with her father John, which fuels the emotional engine of the Apple TV series. “The book and the show are such companions to each other. I feel like Lucky the book really provides the origin story of that emotional core of the show, which is the relationship with John,” the author says… Should the show be renewed — though it is categorized as a limited series — Stapley notes the core question of who Lucky can be after walking away from her con artist ways would likely be explored. “I would imagine in a second season we would see who is Lucky? Who does she become? We would have to explore her relationship with her father further and see what happens there,” she continues while discussing Lucky’s potential on the screen. “But I wonder if Lucky’s journey is actually OK. How does she take her gray moral compass and use the fact that she can see the matrix potentially for good? What would [it] be like for Lucky to have people in her life who genuinely love her and have not gaslit her. What would she do to preserve these relationships?”

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MacDailyNews Take: Here’s the trailer for Lucky:

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