Fires, Lies, and the Mindset of a Firebug

Dennis Lehane, a well-known writer, has a deep understanding of fire. This comes from a personal experience where he survived a house fire in Boston. He was living on the top floor of an apartment building when a propane tank on the roof exploded, causing a massive blaze. The landlord was replacing the smoke detectors at the time, so none were working. Lehane is grateful to be alive and credits the flames for his survival. Lehane's latest project is a nine-episode crime drama series called "Smoke" on Apple TV+. The show is based on a true story about a former arson investigator who was convicted of serial arson in 1998. The investigator was captured after writing a novel about a firefighter who was a serial arsonist. This case inspired Lehane to create the series. The show features a reunion of Lehane, Greg Kinnear, and Taron Egerton, who previously worked together on the Apple TV+ series "Black Bird. " It also stars Jurnee Smollett, Anna Chlumsky, and John Leguizamo, with an original song by Radiohead's Thom Yorke. Egerton plays Dave Gudsen, an arson investigator in the fictional town of Umberland, who is chasing two separate firebugs. He teams up with a smart but troubled detective played by Smollett. The show starts like a typical TV procedural but quickly becomes more complex and infused with moral ambiguity. Dave Gudsen is not who he appears to be. He has an almost superhuman ability to compartmentalize aspects of his personal and private lives. He is both bombastic and insecure, goofy and frightening. Lehane praises Egerton's acting skills, saying he won't take a role unless some part of it scares him. Smollett's character is a former Marine who refuses to be vulnerable. She is excellent at her job but is traumatized by a past experience with arson. She plays with fire, living on the edge and wearing a mask to hide her fears. Lehane is drawn to people who invest in a narrative of who they choose to be rather than be true to who they really are. He believes this is the interesting story he is trying to tell with "Smoke. "