'Smoke' showrunner reveals why he dropped that major twist in Apple TV Plus' new true crime thriller
Apple TV Plus just dropped the first two episodes of "Smoke," its new true crime thriller starring Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett, this morning.
So there's a good chance you haven't seen it yet. If you haven't, then be warned — there are spoilers ahead.
But if you have seen the two-episode premiere or listened to "Firebug," the true crime podcast this show is loosely adapted from, then you know the shocking reveal from the end of episode 2:
Taron Egerton's character, David Gudsen, is an arson investigator who is also a serial arsonist.
To be fair, the show's official trailer doesn't entirely hide this. It avoids showing the reveal directly, but it's clear that Detective Calderone (Jurnee Smollett) thinks her new partner could be a prolific arsonist.
So when I had a chance to sit down with showrunner Dennis Lehane ("The Wire," "Black Bird") to discuss the true crime limited series, I asked him about the choice to drop what would normally be a major reveal so early on in the show.
For his part, Lehane simply doesn't want to deceive audiences just for the sake of shock value. Especially when, if you've already listened to "Firebug" anyway, you know who the arsonist in "Smoke" is likely to be.
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We tried the third episode. We tried the second. We tried the first. And second just worked. Because it's not about the twist at all. It's about how deep does this rabbit hole of this guy's mind go, and what are we going to find at the end of it?
"Audiences are so smart now, man," Lehane rightly pointed out. "I hate shows when I'm sitting there, and I figured it out — I figure [it] out in episode 2, and you're telling me in episode 6? It's annoying."
However, that doesn't mean that the plan was always to go with a reveal at the end of the two-episode premiere. In fact, Lehane and the show's creative team tried multiple options.
"We tried the third episode. We tried the second. We tried the first. And second just worked. Because it's not about the twist at all. It's about how deep does this rabbit hole of this guy's mind go, and what are we going to find at the end of it?"
As someone who has seen "Smoke" and certainly thinks there are more than a few missteps in the miniseries' nine-episode run, I have to agree with the decision to go with a reveal at the end of episode 2.
For starters, any further really would feel like the show is just dragging it out.
But given the premiere's two-episode structure, it also leaves you on a high note. You walk away from the episode desperate to see what's next now that you know the cat-and-mouse game between Calderone and Gudsen is afoot.
As I've already mentioned on more than one occasion, "Smoke" is a true crime thriller miniseries based on the true crime podcast "Firebug."
That podcast examined the life and crimes of John Leonard Orr, one of the most prolific arsonists in history.
In this show, showrunner Dennis Lehane has opted for a fictional stand-in, Pacific Northwest arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton). Along with Detective Michell Calderone (Jurnee Smollett), he's part of a team chasing down a pair of serial arsonists.
But as you now know, one of the people they're chasing is really Gudsen, and the show is, to quote Lehane, "not about the twist at all." Instead, this show is a deep dive into the mind of more than a few twisted individuals as they investigate a spate of arson cases that lead to more than a few deaths.
Stream the first two episodes of "Smoke" on Apple TV Plus now
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
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