This post contains spoilers from Smoke season 1 episode 1 from this point forward.
Over the past few years, Apple TV+ has shown a knack for attracting top talent. That factors both into casts and into the crews that produce shows. We certainly have that working for us with Smoke, a new limited series that debuted on Friday, June 27 on the platform. We got the first two episodes released Friday with the rest of the nine-episode season dropping weekly.
The series draws its inspiration from the Podcast Firebug, which was based on the crimes of John Leonard Orr. This new series, created by Dennis Lehane, is a fictionalized tale drawing inspiration from real life. It pairs him with star Taron Egerton, who was the star of Lehane’s 2022 Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird. Lehane is a talented crime writer, with a decorated history of novels, short stories, TV series, and films. He plies his skill here, creating a rich and engaging crime drama based on two arsonists and the pair of hunters trying to catch them.
Smoke, set in the Pacific Northwest, boasts a strong cast and a solid premise. But does it hook you from the jump? Let’s dive into this pilot episode.
Meeting Dave and Michelle in Smoke
This series focuses on a pair of detectives, Dave Gudsen (Egerton) and Michelle Calderone (Jurnee Smollett). They each have a checkered past, which will impact things, but otherwise they seem to have completely different life paths. Gudsen was a firefighter who nearly lost his life getting trapped in a house fire. As we begin, he’s still trapped in that situation, reliving it in his nightmares.
But he’s moved on. Now he’s a fire investigator who is at the top of his craft. He’s happily married to Ashley (Hannah Emily Anderson), and they have a fun back-and-forth. While Dave is a star at work, he is growing tired of the grind. He dreams of being a writer and is even working on crafting a novel he hopes will be the door to another life. But first, he has a tall task ahead of him.
Calderone is a detective and former Marine who is assigned to help Dave find a pair of serial arsonists who are terrorizing the area. She has her own baggage when it comes to fire that isn’t fully explored in the first hour. But we soon learn she didn’t want this assignment. Instead, it was handed down by her captain, Steven Burk (Rafe Spall), as something of a punishment.
Calderone was having an affair with Steven, and it’s something she regrets. While he was serious about her, she wasn’t ready for a commitment. So, when Steven announced he’d left his wife, she broke things off. He didn’t take it well. Now, she’s trying to salvage her career and solve the case.
And the pressure is on. Fire Chief Harvey Englehart (Greg Kinnear) is feeling the pressure. He makes sure to let Dave and Calderone know they need to make some progress—and quickly. But can they overcome their rough start to catch these arsonists?
The two arsonist cases
There are two arsonists out there. One likes to set chips on fire as a distraction for bigger blazes. The other is fond of using milk jugs full of gasoline for a more personal attack. He seems to be hunting happy people and causing a great deal of terror. But who are these arsonists?
Dave has a theory his chip arsonists is a former firefighter, but his leads have dried up. Calderone suggest it might actually be a working firefighter, getting them access to personnel records. After a false start, Calderone latches on to Archie (David James Lewis). He bristles at the accusation, but is he hiding something? It certainly seems possible.
As for the other arsonist, Dave suspects someone who works at a fast-food restaurant. The arsonist uses cooking oil, which has Dave suspicious. We don’t have to wonder long who it is. Soon, we meet Freddy (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), who does work at a fast-food restaurant. He lives a quietly depressing life, struggling at work and living in solitude. He seems to dream of fires.
It isn’t long before we see Freddy on the hunt. That leads to him going after a happy couple he spotted while out. He is one of our firebugs, and clearly someone we’ll be following throughout the series. But how long will it take for Dave and Calderone to catch up to these arsonists? That’s the question that looms large as the pilot comes to a conclusion.
Smoke episode 1 on Apple TV+ review
Pilots can be a tough challenge. You have to build the world and introduce all the characters, creating a hook that keeps people coming back. But this isn’t Lehane’s first rodeo, nor his first time making the most of Egerton.
Both are great here, as is Smollett. The pilot runs about 65 minutes, providing plenty of time to build these characters and the world. The story is compelling, and the episode is put together really well. I’m fascinated to see where this goes and if it can become a summer hit for Apple TV+.
Smoke streams Fridays on Apple TV+. The first two are out now, with new episodes dropping weekly. Check back here as we recap the action each Friday.
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