As a fan of author and screenwriter Dennis Lehane — not to mention being a bit of a pyro — it brings no joy to say that Smoke is, at best, a middling series. The performances are solid enough, I suppose, but the story is far too sprawling. There are subplots, flashbacks, and fantasies meant to drive character development that mostly just take away from the main arson investigation, which, frankly, isn’t much of a mystery since you discover who the arsonists are pretty early on. It’s certainly watchable, especially if you like Lehane’s vibe, but this tale may have been better in book form.