Apple TV+ is turning up the heat with Dennis Lehane‘s exciting 2025 crime drama miniseries SMOKE. This spooky show was based on the popular podcast Firebug which tells the disturbing—true story of John Leonard Orr—a California fire investigator who started setting fires all over again.
Orr was known for starting terrible fires in the 1980s and 1990s. His crimes cost millions of dollars and tragically killed four people. The show turns this scary story into a made-up investigation led by two complicated characters: Jurnee Smollett plays a detective who is tormented and Taron Egerton plays a mysterious arson expert. The show takes place in the beautiful natural and urban settings of the Pacific Northwest and stars John Leguizamo, Rafe Spall, Greg Kinnear, Ntare Mwine, and Hannah Emily Anderson.
WHERE WAS SMOKE (FIREBUG) FILMED?
Production for Smoke began in March 2024 and continued through July 31, 2024, with British Columbia, Canada serving as the primary filming hub. The decision to shoot in and around Vancouver offered the production a wide variety of settings, from dense urban locations to quiet, tree-lined streets. Here’s a detailed look at the real filming locations that bring Smoke to life.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Vancouver was used to represent a lot of different made-up places in the Pacific Northwest. Vancouver is still a popular place for Hollywood productions because it can be used for many things and is tax-friendly.
One of the coolest things about the shoot was that they used a “burn stage” in Vancouver that was made just for filming real fire scenes. Using real fire instead of CGI, the burn stage let the crew record intense scenes—like the hoarder house fire in the pilot episode. This realistic and intense approach made the fire scenes even more powerful—bringing out the destructive power and chaos that define the series.
@yvrshootstweets any idea what’s going to be filming at library square? The fake building facade has the letters GEN on it. pic.twitter.com/skG2yu7yHl
— Teresa Lu (@teresa_lu) July 17, 2024
The Central Vancouver Public Library, which is also known as Library Square, was another important place in Vancouver. In July 2024, set pieces were used to change the area. One of them was a fake building facade that said “GEN.” To make a fake town setting, fire trucks with the name “Umberland” and police cars with the name “Columbia” were brought in. Local observers spotted multiple extras and even a trained actor police dog on-site, hinting at scenes involving law enforcement operations or a potential fire-related emergency set in the middle of a bustling city.
MAPLE RIDGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Production moved east to Maple Ridge to make the area quieter and more like a suburb. The streets here are known for having lots of trees, having a small-town feel and being able to handle suburban scenes. Maple Ridge was a great place to have character-driven moments away from the chaos of active fire investigations. A lot of the show’s personal or residential scenes were probably filmed here—like the ones that show how the community reacted to the fires and the detectives’ personal lives.
BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Burnaby, located adjacent to Vancouver, also played a key role in the filming of Smoke. Notably, a Coops Fired Chicken set was built in Burnaby, inside a former Pizza Hut, which became the site of a “burnt building” scene. These scenes were meant to look like what happened after one of the arsonist’s fires. The crew was able to film scenes with a lot of damage in a safe, contained space in Burnaby’s urban and suburban areas.
FAKE LOCATIONS, REAL DETAILS
@yvrshootstweets Something filming by Victoria drive and Hastings apparently title “ in den wolken” pic.twitter.com/vEDEa0cGGL
— M (@instantshutter) March 23, 2024
Throughout filming, the production used fictional place names like “Umberland” and “Columbia” on firetrucks and police vehicles. These fictional settings allowed the creative team the freedom to build a narrative world while avoiding associations with actual cities. According to onlookers and local reports, production used the codename “IN DEN WOLKEN”, which translates from German as “In the Clouds,” possibly referencing the unpredictable nature of smoke or the mental clouding involved in the case.
SMOKE — OFFICIAL TRAILER | APPLE TV+
Filming Smoke (aka Firebug) across Vancouver, Burnaby, and Maple Ridge gave the Apple TV+ series the moody, visually dynamic feel that a psychological crime drama needs. The real-life inspiration behind the story—John Leonard Orr’s shocking betrayal of his role as an arson investigator—adds gravity and intrigue to the show’s visual choices. From controlled fire sets to iconic library architecture, every location plays a crucial role in setting the tone for this suspenseful miniseries.
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