January’s been stressful, but it’s nothing compared to Prime Video’s latest heist thriller, Steal — it’s got my Apple Watch beeping at an alarmingly high heart rate.
Steal is a fresh take on the heist genre, from Prime Video. Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones, Joan) and Archie Madekwe (Saltburn, Gran Turismo) star as besties Zara and Luke, whose ordinary day at a pension fund investment company takes a terrifying turn. Armed robbers storm the building, siphoning off a staggering amount of money and forcing Zara and Luke to carry out their demands, or face the consequences.
The realistic plot, and the way it's got us all panicking, has many viewers wondering: Is Steal based on a true story? Let's break it down.
What happens in Steal?
On what starts as an ordinary day at Lochmill Capital, a pension fund investment firm, a group of armed thieves storms in and forces Zara and her best friend, Luke, to help them siphon billions of pounds. Meanwhile, DCI Rhys Covac is tasked with tracking down the criminals, but he’s juggling the investigation alongside his own mounting financial troubles, adding extra tension to the high-stakes chase.
Is Steal based on a true story?
Short answer: No.
But the long answer is way more interesting.
The six-part series marks the TV screenplay debut of Sotiris Nikitas, who also writes crime novels under the pen name Ray Celestin. He previously worked at a financial services company — the same kind of company that gets robbed in Steal, he told RadioTimes.com.
“A lot of financial services companies in the City — a lot of money moves through those desktop computers and gets routed all around the world,” he explained. “And it was just the idea of: there’s a lot more money in those offices than there is in the average high street bank… and absolutely zero security.”
“So it was basically just imagining my workplace getting robbed,” he laughed. “That was the seed of the story. And when I thought of it, I thought, oh, this is a really good idea for a thriller.”
So while Steal isn’t strictly a true story, it’s rooted in reality.
“It is completely how it would happen in real life,” Nikitas said. “I previously worked at that company, and when I was writing the scripts, it was very much exactly the procedure you would go through to effect the transfer of money. So fingers crossed — hopefully — it’s very authentic.”
The commitment to realism extended to the cast as well. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, who plays DCI Rhys Covac, consulted a retired London murder detective and a professional poker player to inform his performance. “We love police and detectives in this country, and I have played a detective before,” he said. “But I was relieved to see some unusual stuff — it made the role feel very authentic.”
Who is in Steal?
As mentioned, Sophie Turner leads the cast — the Emmy-nominated actress will also soon be stepping into the iconic role of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. Keeping pace with her is Archie Madekwe, who has recently been nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star award, and will be playing a fellow employee at the pension fund caught in the heist chaos.
West End regular Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Bodies, The Queen's Gambit and Midas Man) stars as DCI Rhys Covac, the man tasked with solving the crime as quickly as possible, adding an extra layer of tension to the investigation.
Rounding out the cast are Andrew Howard, Jonathan Slinger, Ellie James, and a host of other talented actors, all contributing to the high-stakes drama of Steal.
Grab your popcorn and dig in for this exciting thriller series.
She's so back.
