Page 120 - Metropolis Megazine No.120 International

SMOKE

Fire is a threat, yes, but it is also an not been left behind and still re-
attraction, silence, and memory. In turn in his dreams and silences.
«Smoke», a series created by Den- He also writes, perhaps to try to
nis Lehane for Apple TV+, fire is put into order what he cannot say.
Apple TV+ premiered not just for destruction. The story Taron Egerton plays him with con-
«Smoke» on June 27, is set in Umberland, a fictional city tained tension, oscillating between
starring Taron Egerton in Washington state in the present hardness and fragility, and he bui-
as a fire investigator. day, and follows Dave Gudsen (Ta- lds a character who recognises fire
The series is inspired by ron Egerton), a former firefighter not only as a threat but also as a
the Firebug podcast and who now investigates fires. Inspi- mirror. Dave moves between me-
explores the psychological red by the podcast Firebug and the thod and impulse, between what
side of fire—both literal real-life case of John Leonard Orr, he must do and what consumes
and figurative. the series turns the investigation him. More than an expert, he is so-
into a psychological thriller in whi- meone struggling not to disappear
ch fire is as visible on the streets as with what burns around him.
SARA QUELHAS it is inside the characters.
It is also with the arrival of Michel-
«Smoke» follows a series of fires le Calderone (Jurnee Smollett), a
that seem to follow a dark pattern, detective called in to reinforce the
albeit one that is difficult to deci- investigation, that the series takes
pher. At the centre of the investi- on a different tone. Michelle is un-
gation is Dave Gudsen, a reserved familiar with the city and makes
man burdened by losses that have no attempt to fit in. She observes,

120 METROPOLIS JULY 2025