What if one were to make “Parental Issues: The Series” and mix in a crime drama for fun? It would likely look a lot like Lucky, the thin but enjoyable Jonathan Tropper-helmed adaptation of Marissa Stapley’s novel of the same name.

The titular character’s (Anya Taylor-Joy) daddy issues are obvious. They’re embodied by Timothy Olyphant, weaponizing his charm in a performance that’s 93% charisma to play John, her father. Now an incarcerated con artist/thief, he taught her the ropes of the confidence game from an early age. While less central, her husband Cary’s (Drew Starkey) issues with mommy Priscilla (a game Annette Bening) are arguably even more consequential. As the show less argues and more insists, the couple’s Freudian wounds are directly responsible for everything that happens in this romp.

See, it was John who stole a bunch of money from shady businessman Whittaker (the always welcome William Fichtner) in the first place, after being hired to launder it by, you guessed it, Priscilla. And it is that money that Cary and Lucky take when John goes to prison. Of course, honor among thieves being what it is, Cary ends up ditching with the money, leaving Lucky holding, or rather not holding, the bag. Now she’s on the run from Priscilla, her enforcer, Dutch (Clifton Collins Jr., scary in a thoroughly laconic way), and an FBI Agent obsessed with Whittaker, Billie Rand (an outstanding Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor). It may sound relatively simple, but Tropper and his team complicate it considerably, if not always logically.

What helps viewers overlook the less-than-airtight plotting comes in three categories: performances, aesthetics, and speed. To tackle the last one first, Lucky is a show that moves. Like the lead herself, this show seems to know slowing down would be a very bad idea and acts accordingly. As a result, what might not work or make much sense is often in the rearview before it can be properly assessed. Its pace and confidence almost con viewers into believing that fast and good are the same. Certainly, the momentum is enough to give them an excuse to sink into the couch and stop asking too many questions.

And it is a pretty ride. As shot by Cinematographers Yaren Orbach and Doug Emmett, Lucky looks good. It is easy to make the neons of Las Vegas pop and this series certainly does that. However, giving the desert depth and shading is more of a challenge (just ask Supergirl), and the show manages it. It creates separation with the dull greens of scrub brush, the metallic paint of cars, and later the inky blacks of an area devoid of street lamps. Similarly, the blues, whites, and deep greens of a rich suburban enclave are recognizable without being bland. Regardless of the setting, the show’s composition never lets it down.

Finally, the performers. It is a strong cast with the possible exception of Starkey, who isn’t bad so much as overmatched. Surrounded by stronger performers, his Cary feels slight. There may be an argument for the idea that the character is paper-thin, pushed towards choices by everyone else in his orbit. Still, he needs some grit in that portrayal to sell it. So much of what makes Cary tick lies in his conflicted bond with his mother, but Bening is lifting so much more of that burden. His desire to please her, while being with his wife and perhaps securing the kind of life he always dreamed of, is plenty juicy. Unfortunately, it’s the performers, not Starkey himself, who give that theme resonance.

Taylor-Joy, on the other hand, earns her place at Lucky’s center. Repeatedly, she finds the right body language, tone, or pause to smooth over some of the show’s rougher patches. She brings a grounded, rough-and-tumble quality that her more recent roles have drifted away from. In contrast to Starkey, while others repeatedly call attention to her toxic paternal bond, she always feels like an active participant in that dynamic. She defines her place within it even as she refuses to acknowledge it.

As noted, the show isn’t concerned with everything quite fitting together properly. As a result, coincidences and shortcuts do pile up as it sprints towards its conclusion. But the goodwill it has generated, and a heavy dose of adrenaline, do much to forgive those deficiencies. Like the damaged families that give the show its spine, Lucky makes its fair share of mistakes. Unlike those families, though, it recognizes when to leave them behind and keep moving.

Lucky hits the ground running on AppleTV beginning July 15.

Watch the Lucky Trailer below: