We meet Luciana “Lucky” Armstrong — Anya Taylor-Joy’s titular heroine in the Apple TV limited series “Lucky,” debuting on the streaming service this week — as she’s running between and scurrying under semitrailers.

“Stop now!” commands an FBI agent who is pointing his firearm at her.

We then cut to black in the first of seven intermittently enjoyable but short of engrossing installments of the crime thriller about a woman trained to be a con artist by her father.

Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit,” “The Menu”) is counted among the executive producers of the series created by Jonathan Tropper (“Your Friends & Neighbors,” “The Wrecking Crew”), as is Reese Witherspoon through her production company, Hello Sunshine. That connection is easily explained: Marissa Stapley’s bestselling 2021 novel of the same name was a Reese’s Book Club pick.

Taylor-Joy has a habit of being electric within the frame, and that’s the case here, with her performance standing out as one of the series’ greatest strengths.

Her Lucky spends much of the show on the run, from both the law and the underworld, and that is the series at its best. When it slows down to catch its breath, unfortunately, its run-of-the-mill plot and dialogue allow the viewer’s attention to wander.

In that Jonathan van Tulleken-directed first episode, “No Shortcuts” — debuting, along with the second, “Make ‘Em Dance,” on July 15, with subsequent installments dropping on Wednesdays — all seems good for Lucky when we leap back in time after that high-stakes introduction. She and her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey, “Outer Banks”), have just stolen $10 million and are celebrating at a Las Vegas hotel-casino. In the morning, they’ll be on a cargo plane with the cash flying over international waters.

Oh, if only.

Lucky awakens in a fog to find Cary and the cash gone. Did he drug her and take it? Did someone drug them both and take him and the dough?

Whatever the truth, it’s bad, and it’s time for Lucky to bounce.

Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), an FBI agent who’s dealt with Lucky before, is quickly on the scene, as is Harris Dutch (Clifton Collins Jr., “Westworld”), a henchman for Cary’s criminal mother, Priscilla (Annette Bening, “Nyad”).

The money is the highly desired property of the show’s big bad, Whittaker (William Fichtner, “Heat”), who has made it clear to underling Priscilla that he expects her to prioritize retrieving it over protecting her son.

At its heart, though, “Lucky” is not a mother-son story but one of the father-daughter variety. And Lucky certainly has daddy issues; even though John Armstrong (a sly Timothy Olyphant, “Justified”) resides in prison, he holds great sway over his little girl, whom he reminds to fall back on his teachings whenever the going gets tough.

Through flashbacks, we see John sharing the myriad ways he knows of to relieve people of money or property with a younger Lucky. She proved to be a real chip off the ol’ block, but now she is tiring of a life spent hustling and being on the run.

Thanks in no small part to the solid cast, “Lucky” is reasonably entertaining from the jump, but it isn’t until the close of next week’s third episode, “Read the Room,” that you find yourself really looking forward to more. And a car chase in the following, “Too Close to See It,” is pulse-pounding stuff that keeps the momentum going.

Then, though, as “Lucky” works toward its conclusion, it loses a lot of steam. As for its high-stakes climax, without getting into the details, some of the decisions various characters make are a little tough to swallow.

Tropper is in the midst of crafting a fascinating resume that, along with other TV work (”Banshee,” “See”), includes novels (“One Last Thing Before I Go,” “This Is Where I Leave You”) and movies — he’s the scribe of “Star Wars: Starfighter,” due in theaters in May. As with “Your Friends & Neighbors,” starring Jon Hamm as a New York City hedge fund manager who turns to stealing from others living in his affluent suburb, Tropper has paired with a talented actor to create a lead character who is easy to root for even while committing criminal acts or preying on someone’s good nature.

As embodied by Taylor-Joy, Lucky is a likable survivor, but if you’re looking for much more than a fun run with her, you’re likely to be disappointed.

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‘LUCKY’

2.5 stars (out of 4)

Rating: TV-MA

How to watch: Apple TV

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