City on Fire (review) – doesn’t burn evenly and ends with a whimper rather than a bang

City on Fire is now showing on Apple TV+.

Adapted from Garth Risk Hallberg’s 2015 novel, City on Fire continues the Apple TV trend of dutiful yet innovative adaptations of well-known literature. Whereas the novel focused on the shooting of an NYU freshman in 1977 as New York’s famous blackouts plunged the city into darkness, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (The O.C) move the action to another blackout year, 2003, where the memory and impact of 9/11 haunts New York’s avenues, roads and residents.

City on Fire is, in essence, an interconnected murder mystery centred around the shooting of Samantha Yeung (Chase Sui Wonders), a vibrant young girl involved in an underground music scene, Ex Nihilo, led by the enigmatic Nicky Chaos (Max Milner). Here, the attempted murder of Samantha in Central Park pulls several players who have never met into the investigation, from Wyatt Olaff’s gentle and innocent Charlie to William (Nico Tortorella), an artist and high-functioning drug addict, his long-suffering boyfriend Mercer (Xavier Clyde) and his affluent business-minded and estranged sister Regan (Jemima Kirke). Meanwhile, the controlling, slimy and sinister presence of Regan’s uncle Amory (John Cameron Mitchell) pulls everyone’s strings in the background as Detective Ali Parsa (Omid Abtahi) attempts to join the dots.

The result is an electric murder mystery that burns as fiercely as the fires Ex Nihilo set in the abandoned buildings of New York in the opening four episodes. It is, therefore, a pity that City on Fire falters toward the end, as the mystery melts quicker than ice cream on a hot summer’s day, and the tension evaporates. 

City on Fire leaves us with a conclusion that feels way too easy and far too light, but the journey is entertaining nonetheless. With exemplary performances from a truly stunning ensemble cast, this eight-part drama has much to love, even if it doesn’t burn evenly and ends with a whimper rather than the bang we deserve.