Firebug: Taron Egerton to star in a crime series about a California arsonist for Apple TV+

Last Updated on December 13, 2022

Everyone might want to keep Taron Egerton away from flammable materials because he’s made a deal to star in Firebug, a crime series revolving around the California arsonist John Leonard Orr. Black Bird creator Dennis Lehane, executive producers Richard Plepler, Kary Antholis, Bradley Thomas, and Imperative Entertainment’s Dan Friedkin are fanning the flames of this hot project. In addition to leading the series, Egerton also executive produces.

Scripted by Lehane and inspired by actual events, Firebug follows a tortured detective and an inscrutable arson investigator (Egerton) who are hot on the trail of two serial arsonists. According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Firebug presents a complicated web of events revolving around heroes becoming villains to understand the nature of people who want to see the world burn. Deadline’s description reads:

“Former American firefighter Orr was an arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. Initially hired to understand and track down cases of arson, he became a convicted serial arsonist himself. He was found to be the cause of a spate of high-profile fires across California in the 80s and 90s that led to tens of millions of dollars of damage and four deaths. His nicknames included ‘The Pillow Pyro’, the ‘Frito Bandito’, and the ‘coin-tosser’.

His modus operandi was to set fires using an incendiary timing device, usually comprising a lit cigarette with three matches wrapped in ruled yellow writing paper and secured by a rubber band, in stores while they were open and populated. He would also set small fires often in the grassy hills, in order to draw firefighters, leaving fires set in more congested areas unattended.”

Who does Orr think he is? Gotham City’s Firefly? Setting “distraction fires” is a devious practice, but you must admire the careful planning. Lehane is writing Firebug. Other novels in his library of work are source material for several films, including Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, and Shutter Island. Lehane is also attached to television projects such as The Wire and Boardwalk Empire. With well-established crime chops across the board, LeHane strikes me as the perfect person to light a match under this Apple Original series.

What do you think about the concept for Firebug? Are you excited about Egerton starring in this twisted tale of death and flickering flames? Feel free to let us know in the comments section.