There’s a new true crime drama in town this week, as Apple TV Plus is set to drop the first two episodes of Smoke this Friday (June 27).
Starring Taron Egerton, the drama reunites the Kingsman actor with Black Bird creator Dennis Lehane for a nine episode police procedural.
The show is based on the hit podcast Firebug, which retraced the case of a serial arsonist who terrorised Southern California and burned down several businesses, killing four people.
The official Apple TV Plus synopsis for the show tells audiences: ‘When an arson investigator begrudgingly teams up with a police detective, their race to stop two arsonists ignites a twisted game of secrets and suspicions.’
Reviews of Smoke have started to trickle in and a theme has emerged, urging viewers not to give up on the show early on because things take a major turn after the first episode or so.
No spoilers of course, but a Rolling Stone review said the thriller might initially look like a ‘hacky cop show’ until a major twist, urging viewers to ‘stick with it’.
It was a similar story in The Irish Independent’s write-up, which promised: ‘If you feel the urge to bail out early, resist it, otherwise you might be missing out on something very special.’
Smoke was heralded as having ‘hints of brilliance’ in the Sydney Morning Herald, which added: ‘Every episode from the second onwards ends with an unforeseen turn. That should be valued.’
The reviews were resounding in their praise of Egerton’s mercurial performance as firefighter-turned-arson investigator Dave Gudsen, starring alongside the likes of John Leguizamo and Greg Kinnear.
What are others thrillers I can watch?
- Countdown. Following the murder of an agent, Nathan Blythe (Euphoria star Eric Dane) puts together a task force to crack the case.
- Bet. The Netflix drama sees Japanese teen Yumeko start at the exclusive boarding school St Dominic’s, where gambling is a way of life. There’s already a second season on the way.
- The Secret Agent. The owner of a smutty Soho sex shop has a side hustle on the go as an informer for the Russian embassy. When the Russians have new demands involving a bomb plot, his identity is put at risk.
Gudsen is looking into two serial arsonists alongside hard-nosed police detective Michelle Calderone (Jurnee Smollett).
Like Mindhunter before it, the show becomes both an investigation into who exactly is setting these fires as well as an exploration of why someone would do such a thing.
Smoke is available to stream on Apple TV Plus from June 27.
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