TV-MA | 9 episodes | Drama, Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller | 2025
Even before I finished watching the nine-episode Apple TV+ limited series “Smoke,” something somewhat troubling occurred to me.
Considering the close kinship between law enforcement and firefighting in the real world, it’s surprising that so many movies and TV shows have been so centered on the former, and so few on the latter.
If given 30 minutes, a pen, and a piece of paper, most casual film and TV watchers could list dozens, if not hundreds, of former and current police movies and shows. Given an equal amount of time, could these same people come up with 10 that were firefighter-centric?
Make a List
Without any Google assistance, I did this and came up with “The Towering Inferno,” “Backdraft,” “Ladder 49,” “Chicago Fire,” “Station 19,” “Tacoma FD,” “Rescue Me,” and the superb 2023 documentary “Hotshot.” I then quizzed my brother-in-law, a decades-long firefighter, to do it, and he named all but one of the same titles.
The point here is that firefighting is as equally interesting, important, engaging, and potentially entertaining as law enforcement. Why aren’t the powers that be picking up on this? The answer: They’re not really trying.
Created by novelist Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River,” “Shutter Island,” “Gone Baby Gone”), the series was inspired by “Firebug,” the 2021 podcast based on John Leonard Orr. A former firefighter and arson investigator, Orr set over 2,000 fires over the span of three decades, making him the most prolific serial arsonist in American history.
Set in what looks like Washington State, the series begins two years after the start of multiple serial arson events. One of the culprits, identified as “D & C,” targets mostly retail stores. The other, known only as “Milk Jug,” attacks people he considers to be happy, only because he isn’t.
‘Your Happy’
Milk Jug’s attacks are underscored by the title of the second episode, “Your Happy Makes Me Sad.” In tandem with the opening pilot episode, “Smoke” gets off to a fantastic start. Arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton) enters his office to find police detective Michelle Calderone (Jurnee Smollett) waiting for him.
Calderone is there because the task force headed by Capt. Steven Burk (Rafe Spall) and spearheaded by Harvey Englehart (Greg Kinnear) isn’t making any progress in catching the culprits. As Gudsen is the principal agent for the cases, he is getting most of the blame for the investigative stall. He resents the implication that he’s not up to the task.
Calderone isn’t particularly happy either, as she feels the new assignment is a demotion. Just why she thinks this is made clear before long ,and it certainly muddies the plot waters, but in a good way.
Stolen Thunder
Written by Lehane and five others, the series steals much of its own thunder by revealing the identities of both arsonists before the end of the second episode. Granted, only the audience (and not the characters ) is privy to the reveals, but it makes most of what soon follows either pointless or anticlimactic. I was hoping that this premature self-spoiling had a point or would be paired with offsetting plot twists, but this never materializes.
Two events in episodes 3 through 6 involved the families of Gudsen and Calderone, and neither left much impact on the series as a whole. I can say without reservation, not watching these four episodes will likely improve your overall opinion of the series.
So, why bother watching “Smoke” at all you might ask? Great question.
With the final three episodes, Lehane, his fellow writers, and the three directors pull off one of the greatest dramatic comebacks in premium limited series TV history.
The twists and turns that should have been sprinkled about during the doomed middle stretch come in rapid-fire (pardon the pun) fashion, but never too fast to not be fully absorbed and appreciated. Past history details of the four principal characters (some of them quite unsavory) start to drop, which adds great complexity and texture to the overall story.
It’s the narrative equivalent to the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series with two outs, bases loaded, and a full count on the batter. The home team is behind by two runs, and the batter hits a single. How many runners score? I’m pretty sure that even non-baseball fans understand this analogy.
Premium cable providers (Apple, Amazon, HBO, Netflix) need to realize that more isn’t always preferable. Had “Smoke” been five episodes and not nine, I would have loved it: a full 4 1/2 stars out of five. My final 3-out-of-5 rating is somewhat generous. Please stop wasting our time with superfluous, “Hamburger Helper” filler.
The series starts June 27 on Apple TV+.
‘Smoke’
Directors: Kari Skogland, Joe Chappelle, Jim McKay
Stars: Taron Egerton, Jurnee Smollett, Rafe Spall, Greg Kinnear
Episodes: 9
TV Parental Guidance: TV-MA
Release Date: June 27, 2025
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
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