City On Fire: Release Date, Cast, And More For The Streaming Adaptation Of The Acclaimed Novel
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Apple TV+ is turning yet another bestselling book into a streaming series, much like it's done in the past with shows such as "Pachinko" and "The Essex Serpent." The streamer has shared new information surrounding the release of "City On Fire," an eight-part Apple Original crime drama inspired by the 2015 novel of the same name by author Garth Risk Hallberg. If you're familiar with the book, you'll know this is a mystery that you can spend hours nitpicking and still be surprised when you turn the page.
Bear in mind, this won't be a strictly faithful adaptation of Hallberg's book. Where the latter takes place in New York City on New Year's Eve in the 1970s, the streaming series version will center on the city's Fourth of July festivities in 2003. Here's everything we know about the show so far.
What is City on Fire about?
The official "City on Fire" synopsis reads as follows:
In "City on Fire," an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the Fourth of July, 2003. Samantha is alone; there are no witnesses and very little physical evidence. Her friends' band is playing her favorite downtown club but she leaves to meet someone, promising to return. She never does. As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she's revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.
Chase Sui Wonders stars in "City on Fire" as Samantha, with Wyatt Oleff co-starring as Charlie, a close friend of Samantha's "who is struggling to cope with the death of his father on 9/11 two years earlier. After she is shot, he stops at nothing to unravel the mystery of what happened."
Meet the cast and crew of City on Fire
Joining Chase Sui Wonders ("Generation," "Bodies Bodies Bodies") and Wyatt Oleff (the "It" movies) in the "City on Fire" cast are Jemima Kirke ("Girls") as Regan, Nico Tortorella ("Younger") as William, Ashley Zukerman ("The Lost Symbol") as Keith, Omid Abtahi ("American Gods") as Detective Ali Parsa, and Xavier Clyde as Mercer. Max Milner also co-stars as part-time punk guru and full-time anarchist Nicky Chaos, with Kathleen Munroe playing Detective PJ McFadden and Alexandra Doke playing Sewer Girl, the bleeding heart of Nicki's chaos crew. John Cameron Mitchell ("The Sandman") also co-stars.
As for the creative team behind "City on Fire," the show is written and helmed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, renowned for their work on "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl," among other projects. The show is being produced by Apple Studios, with Schwartz and Savage serving as executive producers under their production company Fake Empire. Jesse Peretz ("Our Idiot Brother," "GLOW") directed the first four episodes of the show, with Lis Rowinski serving as a co-executive producer.
City on Fire release date and where to watch it
"City on Fire" is shaping up to be an intriguing mystery and will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes on May 12, 2023. New episodes will be released every Friday until the show's finale on June 16, 2023. There's no trailer for "City on Fire" yet, but Apple TV+ has released some first-look images that offer us a glimpse of the show's characters. We see Chase Sui Wonders and Wyatt Oleff as Samantha and Charlie, and we see Nicky's gang of followers in action ... and as usual, they're up to no good.
The show itself is one of several brand-new titles headed to Apple's streaming service in 2023, along with the dramedy "Shrinking" (which premiered on January 27) and fellow novel turned streaming series like "The Last Thing He Told Me." Apple TV+ originals like "Schmigadoon!" will also debut new seasons this year.