I’m an unabashed fan of the true crime genre, and, for a time, I couldn’t get enough of true crime podcasts. But you can get too much of a ghoulishly good thing, so I tapped the brakes on my true crime intake. In doing so, I’m sure I missed out on a lot of great podcasts, and it sounds like one of those was “Firebug.” Produced by truth.media and hosted by Kary Antholis, the 10-part series details the stunningly true story of John Leonard Orr, a former arson investigator who was found guilty of having committed more arson than any other single person in American history.
Orr is believed to have been active for 30 years, though most of his crimes were committed between 1984 and 1991. Now in his mid-70s, he is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the California State Prison in Centinela. Whereas most serial killer stories generate suspense from investigators trying to establish a pattern in anticipation of the next murder, “Firebug” tells the eerily fascinating tale of a man who, in at least one case, investigated his own crime.
In 1984, Orr set a fire at Ole’s Home Center hardware store in South Pasadena, California, that killed four people (including a two-year-old child). When fire investigators concluded that the blaze was caused by an electrical fire, Orr actually insisted that this was an act of arson.
Orr went on a fire-starting spree after this, basically daring his peers to catch him by setting his blazes in the vicinity of conventions for fire investigators (which he attended). Orr wound up on a shortlist of suspects after a 1989 fire that he set in Pacific Grove, California, but was ruled out when his fingerprint did not match the one discovered near the scene of the crime.
The most fascinating element of Orr’s story is that he wrote a crime book titled “Points of Origin” that essentially doubled as a confession. The discovery of this book helped the state eventually indict and convict Orr. However, despite his seeming desire to get caught, he steadfastly denied being the culprit. His daughter believed him as well, going so far as to testify in his defense at his trial. Years later, she came to terms with her father’s obvious guilt and cut him out of her life.
Even though I now know the thumbnail sketch of Orr’s story (and have read the mixed critic reactions), I’m still amped to watch “Smoke.” Lehane is one of our greatest mystery/crime novelists and has done sensational work for television via his contributions to series like “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire.” He also wrote Michaël R. Roskam’s hugely underrated 2014 thriller “The Drop,” so I’m forever down to watch anything with his name on it. Factor in Egerton as the character based on Orr, plus a supporting cast that includes Jurnee Smollett, John Leguizamo, Greg Kinnear, Rafe Spall, and Anna Chlumsky, and “Smoke” sounds like a must-watch summer series.
“Smoke” is now streaming on Apple TV+.
