Why Apple TV+’s Smoke Is the Must-See Crime Drama of the Summer!

by

2025’s television schedule is welcoming the arrival of summer, which typically brings the debut of some of the most eagerly awaited streaming TV series. As a fan of the network TV show Chicago Fire, with a penchant for Station 19 and 9-1-1, I suspected that Apple TV+’s fire-centric Smoke starring Taron Egerton would be right in my wheelhouse. However, upon watching the trailer with exhilarating footage and hints of the captivating Black Bird, I realized that I was underestimating what was to come, and now Smoke has made its way onto my list of must-watch summer shows.

If the cast of “Black Bird” reunited for “Smoke”, I don’t foresee their latest venture ending in disaster.

What To Expect From Smoke

In the trailer (shown above), it’s revealed that a fresh crime drama is crafted by Dennis Lehane, featuring Taron Egerton as Dave Gudsen, an arson investigator, and Jurnee Smollett portraying Michelle Calderone, a police detective. Their connection appears to be intricate, to put it mildly. Additionally, the talented cast includes Rafe Spall, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Anna Chlumsky, Adina Porter, Greg Kinnear, and John Leguizamo.

The narrative centers around Gudsen and Calderone, who unwillingly join forces to prevent a pair of arsonists from causing widespread destruction by fire in their region. While “Smoke” is a work of fiction, it draws inspiration from the true crime podcast “Firebug” by truth.media. Starting this coming Friday, June 27, the first two episodes will be available, with a new episode being released every week up until August 15.

Pondering over the trailer and recalling Taron Egerton and Dennis Lehane’s past collaboration, I can’t help but pique my curiosity about how closely the story mirrors real life. Given that Black Bird was adapted from a true account novel and took great care to avoid sensationalizing the tale, it makes me question the authenticity of the narrative presented in this film.

Why Black Bird Is An All-Time Favorite Streaming Crime Thriller

Approximately three years prior to the release of Smoke, the series Black Bird began, centering around Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton), who struck a deal to reduce his own prison sentence by securing a confession from Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), a notorious serial killer and rapist, while they were both incarcerated. Sepidah Moafi played Jimmy’s FBI supervisor, Greg Kinnear portrayed detective Brian Miller, and Ray Liotta appeared as Jimmy’s father in one of the late Goodfellas actor’s final performances before his passing.

Instead of a fast-paced crime thriller filled with six episodes of riots, explosions, and gunfights, this was a haunting miniseries that left a lasting impression. To this day, I can still picture Egerton’s character, Jimmy, alone in despair, meticulously replicating Hall’s map with his own blood as details slipped from his mind. The show didn’t provide a traditional happy ending; none of the graves marked on the map were found, and it was indeed an intense viewing experience.

As a lover of crime dramas, I find myself quite excited at the prospect of a collaboration from the team behind “Black Bird” again, with Dennis Lehane returning as writer/creator and Taron Egerton reprising his role as star/executive producer. The preview for “Smoke” only serves to intensify my anticipation; I can’t wait for this upcoming series!

On this coming Friday, June 27th, don’t forget to tune into the debut episode of “Smoke” over at Apple TV+. And if you happened to miss out on “Black Bird” when it originally aired in 2022, you can catch up with it on the streaming platform right now.

Read More

2025-05-29 06:07