Apple TV+’s Smoke comes from novelist Dennis Lehane, who’s written some glorious books, and some that haven’t landed as nicely. After two episodes, it’s unclear the place Smoke — impressed by the podcast Firebug, about arsonist John Leonard Orr — falls on that spectrum. Lehane has a powerful monitor document in tv (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Mr. Mercedes), so I’m inclined to offer him the good thing about the doubt. Right here, he reunites with Taron Egerton and Greg Kinnear, each of whom starred in his 2022 Apple TV+ riveting restricted collection Black Fowl.
Egerton performs Dave Gudsen, a former firefighter turned arson investigator. He’s paired with police detective Michelle Calderon (Jurnee Smollett) to analyze two ongoing serial arson circumstances he hasn’t been in a position to resolve. Calderon, a former Marine with a promising future within the division, has been sidelined after an affair with the flawed man — a superior officer, performed by Rafe Spall, who makes use of her project to arson circumstances as punishment after she rejected him after he left his spouse. (For the few Making an attempt followers on the market, it’s genuinely disorienting to see Spall as an abusive creep with an American accent.)
Gudsen initially appears affable and even a bit endearing — he’s an aspiring novelist with a pleasant demeanor — however that rapidly unravels. His step-kid resents him, his spouse barely tolerates him, and beneath the floor, there’s a deeply disagreeable man. One of many arsonists is revealed early on: a put-upon, middle-aged fast-food employee who units fires to really feel some measure of management in his life. Kinnear performs Gudsen and Calderon’s supervisor, a well-known upright authority determine in step with different acquainted Greg Kinnear roles.
At first, it’s tough to know what to make of Smoke. The pacing feels off, the tone ambiguous. The arsonist’s backstory makes him extra pitiful than terrifying, and Gudsen’s shift from charming to repellent feels abrupt and irritating.
However that’s additionally the place the present finds its focus. Spoilers for episode two: the twist on the finish of the episode adjustments our perspective totally. Smollett is nice as a detective making an attempt to get better from self-inflicted profession injury, however the actual hook is the reveal that Gudsen isn’t simply an asshole — he’s the second arsonist. And Calderon is beginning to suspect it. That shift reframes the whole collection and offers it a much-needed sense of urgency and rigidity and of what I count on shall be a cat-and-mouse sport between two nice actors.
Nonetheless, the present has seven episodes to go, and it’s not clear there’s sufficient story to justify the complete season except Lehane introduces new components. We’ve but to satisfy characters performed by John Leguizamo and Anna Chlumsky, so it’s potential reinforcements are coming. However Apple TV+ has developed a sample of high-potential dramas that lose momentum midway by way of—Dope Thief, Prime Goal, Darkish Matter, Earlier than, Woman within the Lake, Palm Royale, Manhunt—and that’s simply within the final 18 months. Right here’s hoping Smoke can keep away from the identical destiny.