Apple TV+ has a new prestige drama called Smoke on the way, and its creator knows how long he wants the series to run. The story follows Taron Egerton's Dave Gudsen, an arson investigator whose local town is being terrorized by two serial arsonists determined to destroy as much as possible.
The series, which debuts on June 27, 2025, also stars Jurnee Smollett as Detective Michelle Calderon, Dave's new partner, John Leguizamo as Esposito, Dave's old partner, and Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine as local outcast Freddy.
The Direct sat down with Smoke showrunner Dennis Lehane in an exclusive interview, during which he confirmed that he "want[s] to go three [seasons]" and that he has "a very strong sense of how those three will end." Though, at the end of the day, the odds of more episodes all "depend[s] on how many people show up and watch it."
Lehane also discussed the show's flawed characters, with the writer elaborating, "I have always built characters from the flaws out." He also mentioned chaos as an "operating word for us when we were writing the show." In fact, "there are a lot of emotional fires... [and] psychological fires in the show.
Smoke Creator Wants the Apple TV+ Show To Go for Three Seasons
"I Have a Very Strong Sense of How Those Three Will End."
- The Direct: "What are the long-term plans here? How many seasons do you want to go for? Have you mapped out what a long-term looks like for this story?"
Dennis Lehane: I want to go three [seasons]. Whether Apple wants to go three will depend on how many people show up and watch it. But I want to do three, and I have a very strong sense of how those three will end. I never know how I'm going to get to my ends, but I usually know what my ends are.
Smoke Creator on Creating Flawed Protagonists
"I Always Build From the Flaws Out."
- The Direct: "The show has some extremely flawed protagonists in it. You know, really, none are contenders for best Person of the Year. How do you feel that that elevates the story that you are telling?"
Dennis Lehane: Oh, I don't know whether it elevates or not. I just don't know any other way to write characters. I don't really write good guys. I don't really write bad guys. I just kind of write people, and I think most people are pretty messed up... I did know one thing, that ever since I started writing, I have always built characters from the flaws out. I don't go from what makes them strong, I tend to go from what makes them weak or what makes them, because I find flaws are interesting, and I don't find the guy in the white hat all that interesting.
Dennis Lehane on the Thematic Presence of Fire in Smoke
"The Operating Word for Us When We Were Writing the Show Was Chaos."
- The Direct: "Now, fire is obviously the main focus of the story. But how does that permeate throughout the entire story you're telling, further than just it literally being about fires, but like on a thematic and narrative level?"
Dennis Lehane: The operating word for us when we were writing the show was chaos. We just felt like it was about chaos. And fire is the most chaotic thing in the world. I mean, fire is very hard to control, particularly if it's allowed to fester in the wild. And so we took that, and by we, I mean the writers, we took that as a way into all our characters as well. I mean, there are a lot of emotional fires in the show. There are a lot of psychological fires in the show. There's a lot of physical fire in the show as well. But it's all fire all the time. In a lot of ways.
View the entire, spoiler-free interviews here:
