Smoke season 1: Release date, plot, and everything we know so far

Smoke is an upcoming American crime drama miniseries set to be released on Apple TV+ this Friday, June 27, 2025. The series was created by Dennis Lehane, and inspired by the acclaimed crime podcast by truth.media, Firebug. Firebug explores the crimes of arsonist John Leonard Orr, with the podcast being hosted by Academy Award and Emmy Award winner Kary Antholis.

Initially titled by Apple TV+ as Firebug, production for the series began in March 2024 in Vancouver, BC. It was retitled to Smoke and has since earned a score of 8.2 on IMDb and 72% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on critics' reviews.

Premiere - 2025 Tribeca Festival (Image via Getty)

Dennis Lehane teamed up with lead actor Taron Egerton yet again to executive produce this series, following the success of their previous project for Apple TV+, Black Bird.

Release date for all episodes of Smoke

Smoke will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, June 27, 2025. The pilot, along with the second episode, titled Your Happy Place Makes Me Sad, is set to be released on the same day. Meanwhile, the other seven episodes of this nine-part series will be released as follows:

All the episodes can be watched with a subscription to Apple TV+. Plans begin from $9.99 a month, with a one-week free trial. The annual subscription rates start at $99.

Plot of Smoke

The story of the Apple TV+ show centers around an arson investigator and a detective, Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton) and Michell Calderon (Jurnee Smollett), tasked with tracking down two manic arsonists in the Pacific Northwest.

Gudsen is known for giving seminars on fire and its unique, destructive nature, while Detective Calderon lost her mother to a fire that she set by herself in their apartment building when she was very young. These incidents make both of them the perfect team to track down these serial fire-starters.

Dave Gudsen and Detective Michell Calderon. Image via Instagram/@jurneesmollett

Calderon's partner, Steven Burk (Rafe Spall), recruits her to work alongside Gudsen. Their investigation is tough, especially having to report to their rigid superior, Harvey Englehart (Greg Kinnear).

The pair comes close to catching one of the two arsonists, responsible for starting fires in supermarkets and grocery stores by setting potato chip packets ablaze. However, their journey is wound with twists and shocking revelations.

Watch the trailer for season 1 of the show here:

Cast and characters of Smoke

The main characters of the Apple TV+ original are listed as below:

• Taron Egerton as Dave Gudsen
• Jurnee Smollett as Detective Michell Calderon
• John Leguizamo as Esposito
• Rafe Spall as Steven Burk
• Greg Kinnear as Harvey Englehart
• Ntare Mwine as Freddy Fasano
• Hannah Emily Anderson as Ashley Gudsen

Besides, Adina Porter stars in the show as Brenda Cephus, Dakota Daulby plays Lee, and Michael Buie features as Gerard.

Smoke will premiere on Apple TV+ on June 27, 2025, with the first two episodes available for immediate streaming. These episodes can be viewed with a subscription to the OTT platform.

Edited by Arunava Dutta