Spoilers ahead for the first two episodes of Smoke, available streaming with an Apple TV+ subscription now.
2025 TV schedule to reunite Black Bird’s Dennis Lehane and Taron Egerton for a brand new series. Inspired by real-life events, the drama kicked off with a firefighter-turned-arson investigator and a cop joining forces to try and catch two arsonists who have been wreaking fiery havoc. In a surprising twist, the show didn’t hold off on the reveals of who each arsonist is, and one of them completely changes the game. Lehane, who created Smoke, explained why the reveal dropped as early as it did and what comes next.
Loosely based on the Firebug podcast, Smoke stars Jurnee Smollett in her first big TV role since Lovecraft Country as the complicated Detective Michelle Calderon, while Taron Egerton plays retired firefighter/arson investigator/aspiring novelist Dave Gudsen. Both characters brought their own baggage to the investigation, but for most of the two episodes the released on premiere day, Dave’s biggest flaws seemed to be selfishness, overconfidence in his skills as a writer, and a spectacular inability to read the room with his wife and stepson.
same league as Black Bird a few years ago. Per Lehane for his latest streaming show, Dave isn’t the only one who’s “just a little bit nuts,” and we’ll presumably see more of that across the board as the season continues. He is the only one so far who seems particular dangerous with his state of mind, and I have to credit Taron Egerton’s performance in Dave’s scenes with his wife and stepson in Episode 2.
Dave was increasingly close to flipping out on both of them, and both Ashley and Emmett looked scared of him by the time he plastered an insincere smile on his face and walked out for a break. His most sincere smile of the opening two episodes? After setting that potato chip bag fire, wearing sunglasses, a hood, and faking a limp to hide his identity. It’s good to have hobbies, I guess?
In all sincerity – seriously, don’t start fires – the show switching from “Who?” to “Why?” early on should make for some tense interactions between the two partners in particular. After the two-episode release on June 27, Apple TV+ will release one episode on Fridays weekly through August. Be sure to keep tuning in to see how long Dave can keep his secret, while he and Michelle also have to track down another arsonist.