SPOILER ALERT: The following piece contains plot details from the first two episodes of “Smoke,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
Three years ago, crime writer Dennis Lehane and actor Taron Egerton teamed up for “Black Bird,” an Apple TV+ series that adapted the true story of undercover informant James Keene into a disturbing-yet-tender take on masculinity. “Black Bird” was well-received, earning critical praise and a trio of Emmy acting nominations, including a posthumous nod for Ray Liotta as Keene’s father. But while Egerton was excellent as a career criminal brought face-to-face with the ugly extreme of his own unquestioned machismo, the showier role went to Paul Walter Hauser, who played a serial killer slowly goaded into a confession and ultimately took home the trophy for outstanding supporting actor.
Egerton and Lehane have now reunited for “Smoke,” another true crime show that explores criminal psychology with an eerie atmosphere and a star-studded cast. As the title suggests, “Smoke” shifts Lehane’s focus to the world of arson, spinning a nine-episode yarn about an arson investigator (Egerton) and a police detective (Jurnee Smollett) who pair up to catch a couple of firebugs in the Pacific Northwest. The fictional city of Umberland, a kind of Seattle surrogate with cutesy neighborhood names like “Trolleytown,” is played by the real city of Vancouver, a frequent filming hub whose lush forests are recast here as dangerous fuel.
“Smoke” is intriguing enough throughout the first couple episodes. Egerton’s Dave Gudsen is a former firefighter and aspiring novelist, allowing Lehane to gently poke fun at tropes (thin female characters, clunky prose) rife in his chosen field. Smollett’s Michelle Calderon is a steely, focused presence, if predictably saddled with both a fire-related trauma and an ill-advised affair with her boss, police captain Steven Burke (Rafe Spall). But it’s a twist at the end of the second episode that kicks “Smoke” into high gear and reveals what the show is really up to.
I’ve included a spoiler alert at the top of this review, and I’ll reiterate the same sentiment here. The reveal in question is more of a delayed premise than a late-breaking rug pull, and with the first two parts of the nine-episode season freely available to stream, it’s technically fair game to discuss. (A cursory Google of the “Firebug” podcast already reveals the concept that clearly drew Lehane to the material.) The twist is also a delightful surprise to experience in the moment, so I’ll allow readers to decide for themselves just how much they’d like to know going in. Ready? Proceed!
“Smoke” follows one of the two arsonists in Dave and Michelle’s sights from the start: Freddy (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), a chicken shop fry cook whose slow, halting speech and urge to set the homes of seemingly happy strangers on fire appear to stem from some kind of mental disability. (Freddy’s incendiary device of choice is a milk jug filled with oil — not exactly sophisticated stuff.) But while Freddy gets his own storyline about an attempt to better himself that goes disastrously awry, the other arsonist remains anonymous beyond a strange proclivity for the potato chip aisle of various grocery stores. Until, that is, Dave gets in a disturbing argument with his wife and stepson. He leaves the house, and “Smoke” follows him into a supermarket, feigning a limp and covering himself with a hood and sunglasses.
This development turns “Smoke” into a thrilling cat-and-mouse game, one that doesn’t insult Michelle’s intelligence by keeping her in the dark much longer than the audience. “Smoke” replicates in miniature the horror felt by people like Dave’s boss Harvey (Greg Kinnear in full, resplendent Dad Mode), who initially understands him as a hero, then quickly moves on to the satisfying work of entrapping him. Crucially, the early unveiling unlocks the full depth of Egerton’s masterfully unnerving performance. The real version of Dave is equal parts pitiful and menacing, seductive and unable to fully pass himself as a normal person. Egerton can easily project confidence and affability, but once Dave is fully unmasked, the role of “arson investigator who’s also an arsonist” proves just as rich as Hauser’s nakedly misogynist id in “Black Bird.” Mwine, too, is fantastic; you feel for lonely, hapless Freddy even as watching him makes you want to crawl out of your skin.
“Smoke” has a sense of humor that helps counter the creep factor. The increasingly obvious awfulness of Dave’s book gives Smollett some great reaction work amid all Michelle’s pained determination. John Leguizamo doesn’t appear as Dave’s disgruntled ex-partner until halfway through the season, but it’s worth the wait for an unabashed slimeball who’s turned to producing pornography without a badge to give him purpose. Less ridiculous, but still welcome, is the late arrival of Anna “Amy from ‘Veep’” Chlumsky as one of Michelle’s detective colleagues. With behind-the-scenes involvement from former HBO higher-ups, Kary Antholis (also the original host of “Firebug”) and Richard Plepler, both executive producers, “Smoke” is a particularly open assertion of Apple’s intent to become a new go-to premium outlet. Not only is the cast packed to the gills; the theme song is performed by none other than Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, like Mick Jagger moonlighting as the voice of fellow Apple show “Slow Horses.”
With half as many episodes as “Black Bird,” “Smoke” is perhaps unsurprisingly less tight, and starts to spiral out into absurdity in the season’s home stretch. Freddy strays a little too close to the stereotype of a mystic savant; Michelle makes some rash and drastic decisions that beggar belief. Nonetheless, “Smoke” as a whole — and especially as a vehicle for Egerton — is deeply satisfying, a fast and clean burn that leaves little behind.
The first two episodes of “Smoke” are now streaming on Apple TV+, with the remaining episodes airing weekly on Fridays.
