Apple TV's new crime thriller miniseries "Lucky," starring Anya Taylor-Joy, draws its emotional core from a real financial scam that author Marissa Stapley's family experienced when she was a child. The series, adapted from Stapley's 2021 novel of the same name, follows con artist Lucky Armstrong as she is pursued by both the FBI and organised crime after a heist goes wrong, but its themes of forgiveness and redemption stem directly from Stapley's own life.

Stapley revealed to PEOPLE that when she was 10, her mother was defrauded of her entire life savings by a couple posing as investors, with no chance of recovering the money afterwards. This experience drove Stapley to research both scam techniques and the psychology behind them, hoping to understand and ultimately forgive those responsible. Her mother read the novel before dying of cancer, and Stapley says she is glad the show preserves the book's moral complexity, including the idea that people are redeemable and shame is often the biggest barrier to change. Produced by Reese Witherspoon with showrunners Jonathan Tropper and Cassie Pappas, "Lucky" premiered on Apple TV this week with two episodes, and will release new instalments weekly through 19 August.