Anya Taylor-Joy Is Bloodied and Battling in Apple TV’s Crime Thriller ‘Lucky’

Anya Taylor-Joy returns to the desert landscape, this time for Apple TV+'s crime thriller 'Lucky,' where she plays a con artist fighting for survival. The series, adapted from Marissa Stapley's novel, premieres Wednesday and sees Taylor-Joy's character betrayed by a close associate and forced to flee with $10 million at stake.

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Listen, I’ve been to the desert so many times at this point it’s kind of unreal. I don’t look like a desert creature, and yet I’m always there and I love it. People like to see me struggle, and they like me to survive. And, luckily, I enjoy doing it, too, so it works out.

She finds herself pursued by both the FBI and a ruthless crime boss. Adding to her challenges, her father, a former criminal himself, can only offer limited help from behind bars. "She's at an inflection point... where she's got to chart her own course. She's got to take things into her own hands," explains executive producer Lauren Neustadter.

The seven-episode series promises action from the outset, with Lucky forced to fight her way out of a car trunk and defend herself in the desert. Neustadter notes the character's evolution: "She starts off being all about the con, and the question is, ‘Where will that go? How will she evolve and who will she become?’"

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She’s at an inflection point when we meet her in the book and in the show where she’s got to chart her own course. She’s got to take things into her own hands, and she’s got to really decide how she wants to live her life.

'Lucky' also features Annette Bening, Drew Starkey, and Timothy Olyphant. The soundtrack is notably female-centric, including contributions from Fiona Apple, Sleater-Kinney, and Siouxsie Sioux. Bening portrays a complex mob leader, describing her character as "an abused woman and she's an abuser," finding her "intriguing."

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How can someone so small cause so much trouble?

Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine approached Taylor-Joy with the book, offering her the lead role and the opportunity to executive produce. "I felt that I had something to contribute in this space," Taylor-Joy said of her debut as an executive producer, a role she embraced after falling in love with the character and the project.

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We see this character evolve from beginning to end. She starts off being all about the con, and the question is, ‘Where will that go? How will she evolve and who will she become?’ And I think that it’s one of the things that makes this show so special.