Netflix’s New True Crime Thriller? Think Again — Smoke on Apple TV+ Is the Fiery, Critically Acclaimed Hit Everyone’s Talking About

“Sharp dialogue. Explosive performances. And a fire that burns deeper than arson.”

Critics are all saying the same thing — Smoke, the latest true crime-inspired thriller starring Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett, isn’t just good. It’s unmissable.

Based on real events and adapted from a hit podcast, Smoke is already igniting major buzz online, with Rotten Tomatoes and The Hollywood Reporter hailing it as a summer standout. While some call the structure messy and overly ambitious, everyone agrees on one thing: the performances are magnetic, the tension is real, and the fire is far more than metaphorical.

“This is yet another real-life inspiration fuelling complex & interesting character studies,” raves Screen Rant.
“It’s stylish, it’s thrilling — and it’s impossible to look away.”

What’s It About?

Set against a city scorched by secrets, Smoke follows a tormented detective (Egerton) and a dangerously drawn arson investigator (Smollett) as they hunt two elusive serial firestarters. But as the flames rise, so do the personal demons — addiction, trauma, obsession — all of it feeding a psychological inferno neither character can escape.

Smollett’s performance as Michelle is already being called her best yet — a woman “constantly playing with fire,” trapped in cycles of destruction and creation. Egerton brings raw vulnerability to a role soaked in guilt and desperation. Together, they light up the screen.

Critics Are Obsessed

While The Hollywood Reporter notes the story is “too long and repetitive,” even they admit it “features one of the summer’s best ensemble casts.” IGN praises the series as “endlessly watchable,” and Globe and Mail singles out the “sharp dialogue” and “off-kilter intensity” that makes it feel “original.”

And most viewers? They’re bingeing it in one sitting.