Cast: Taron Egerton, Jurnee Smollett, Greg Kinnear, John Leguizamo, Rafe Spall, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Anna Chlumsky

Series Created By: Dennis Lehane

Streaming Service: Apple TV +

Length: 9 episodes

Audio Description Provided By:

Written By:

Narrated By: Roy Samuelson

What Is it?: An arson investigator (Egerton) is stuck in a town that seems to have two arsonists he can’t catch. he gets help from a detective (Smollett), who has been sent downstream for personal reasons, relegated to arson. She has a past with arson herself, having survived one as a child. Together, they must figure out who is setting the fires. But, who watches the watchmen?

What Works: it is not a perfect show, but it is a damn good one. The performances across the board are all terrific. Kinnear needs more screentime, but he brings this melancholy to a Chief so close to retirement he can touch it, but these damn arsonists are mucking up his desire to cut ties. Leguizamo is electric (as usual) in the role of a retired police officer who is a bit of a conspiracy theorist. Mwine plays Freddie, who is a fry cook, and is revealed near the beginning to be one of the two arsonists. That way, we see the world from his perspective. He embodies a man beaten by life, ready to push his pain onto others, and who believes he’s always had this evil in him, he’s just afraid to show it. His soft spoken performance just makes him all the more creepy.

But, Smollett is Emmy nomination worthy. She has past trauma undealt with, both from her childhood, and also from choices that led to her current appointment. Her evolution over nine episodes is brilliant and heartbreaking, as the white knight of the bunch ends up being able to be morally compromised in order to get her man. And, Egerton, who I keep forgetting is 35, feels younger than he is. He’s got this energy and anger in him, a dichotomy that works until the final frame. He’s smart, but also easy to read,which makes controlling him as needed an interesting gamble. The final few minutes of the series truly sealed the deal for me, as the shows sleight of hand is revealed, and you realize just what Egerton’s casting has done for the show.

Some truly exceptional moments. not every moment, not every episode, but a lot to like here.

What Doesn’t Work: Like I said, the journey can be rough. You can basically see the ending probably sooner than we should be able to, which makes it into more of a cat and mouse game. That works sometimes to greater effect than others. For example, a car crash out of nowhere serves as a cliffhanger for an episode, but really is pointless in the larger scheme. Honestly, i would have just tried to push back the suggestion of the series end until maybe Episode 6, so we have more build up, and it doesn’t feel like we’re waiting for the inevitable.

The Audio Description: Just brilliant. I normally don’t love how Apple does opening title sequences with no credits, but Smoke has some fun and relevant imagery in it. Roy’s voice matches the series. the writer picked out some great moments throughout in terms of fire, like one victim who runs from a burning building as a chunk of her skin fell away. There’s a suicide, which now every episode comes with a trigger warning which is a spoiler for the episode, but Roy did a nice job as we see that character essentially experiencing their life flash before their eyes. And, the finale. the finale is just fucking brilliant. It doesn’t work without the support of the description, since the sleight of hand is visual.

Why You Might Like it: you love a good crime drama, and we haven’t had one about arsonists in a while. Also, the cast is stacked, and they do Emmy worthy work. Dennis Lehane wrote Mystic River, if that helps.

Why You Might Not Like it: I’m calling it a Season 1 review, because anything can happen. It pretty solidly closed the book on this, but you’ll spend most of the show wanting to see this continue. I guess the fact that it is a limited series could frustrate you if you want more, and it never comes.

Final Thoughts: I’ll be the first to admit Smoke is not a perfect show, but it was a hell of a ride. Sometimes I wanted something different, or I loved what choice they just made, but episode after episode I felt compelled. I needed to know what happens next, not because it is a quirky and reliable procedural, but because the story that encompasses our characters is inherently interesting. Where there’s Smoke, there’s fire, and this show will burn right through your binge watching plans.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8.2/10