Season 1 |
Episode Guide
Episode 1 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 2 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 3 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 4 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 5 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 6 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 7 – | Review Score – 2/5
Episode 8 – | Review Score – 2/5
What do you get when you combine bad writing, bad characters and bad pacing? Probably something similar to AppleTV’s latest thriller, City on Fire. With 8 episodes of laborious drama, and a handful of unlikable players at the helm, this drama fails to catch light and set Apple on fire.
From the executive producers of Gossip Girl, City on Fire is set in the early 2000’s, modernizing(ish) a story that originally takes place in the 70’s. This mishmash of culture clashing doesn’t quite work and unfortunately, this seeps across to the main narrative too, which is shaky and full of plot holes.
The setting is the fourth of July, and a college student called Sam is shot in Central Park. As Detectives McFadden and Parsa start to investigate the scene, a spring of citywide fires start and rattle the locals. In the wake of this, we follow Charlie, a young man who becomes entangled with Sam and determined to find out the truth.
With Sam in a coma, and a whole rabble of characters caught up in this mess, what ensues from here is a balance of interpersonal character drama and pockets of action, as the truth is finally unveiled at the end.
The trouble is, reaching that end point is such a slog and the pay-off hardly makes it worth it. That’s right, this is another Apple production that ends on a baited cliffhanger for another season while also dragging its heels through a story that could have been half the length.
To be fair, some answers are unveiled and the plot does attempt to wrap parts up, but some of the characters are so damn unlikable and have really poor arcs.
There’s a whole subplot here about a company called William-Sweeney and while it is integral to the main plot, it’s also rather dour and slows the pace down to a crawl. Regan and her husband Keith end up right in the midst of this, while the slimy Amory Gould seemingly has his fingers in many honeypots.
I’d like to say the show twists and turns, throwing up numerous different surprises, but to be honest, the only surprise here comes from the sheer amount of plot armour and terrible plot holes the show has.
As one example, early on Charlie ends up at the crime scene and in his terror, urinates on the grass and then throws his trousers under a bridge. While the trousers are examined by police officers, it’s never mentioned again, despite being a huge part of the crime scene.
These sort of moments are littered throughout the show, and it eventually tumbles over any believability and you find yourself watching just to see how it ends, rather than genuinely invested in these people and the story.
That’s a shame too because City on Fire has a nice premise on paper. Unfortunately, that never translates into anything tangible across its 8 long, overblown episodes. As a result, this Apple original is one fire that extinguishes long before the final credits, making for a disappointing showing.
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Verdict - 3/10
3/10