THE HEIST

The chronicler of Stephanie Plum (Notorious Nineteen, 2012, etc.) teams up with screenwriter Goldberg (Mr. Monk Goes to Germany, 2008, etc.) to kick off a lighthearted new series pairing an FBI agent with the con artist who’s been her chronic prey.

When nonpareil scam-meister Nicolas Fox escapes from custody shortly after Special Agent Kate O’Hare finally hauls him off to jail, she begs to be put back on his case. But there’s a great reason she isn’t: The Feds want her to partner with Nick in tracking down playboy investment banker Derek Griffin and retrieving the $500 million of his company’s money he took with him. Kate and Nick assemble a crew as dutifully as the cast of Mission: Impossible for the caper, and soon, rock-bottom thespian Boyd Capwell, Texas trucker Wilma Owens and special-effects tech Chet Kershaw are setting up a sting to trick Neal Burnside, Griffin’s scalawag attorney, into revealing his boss’ whereabouts. Since every other FBI agent in America is hunting for Nick, Kate’s career, maybe even her freedom, depends on shielding him from all her colleagues. So it’s nice for them both when Griffin turns out to be lying low in Indonesia, where pirates roam the seas unchecked and extradition treaties are no more than a pipe dream but at least the landscape is clear of other FBI types. Kate plots to bag Griffin and the loot; Nick dreams of getting into Kate’s pants and taking off with the money himself. The duo is meant to be as adorably romantic as Nick and Nora, but the only elements missing to make their adventure a sitcom are a laugh track and some laughs.

Amiable international intrigue that’s less James Bond than Matt Helm.