Harsh Vardhan
The filming of the Taron Egerton-starrer Apple TV+ series ‘Firebug’ is set to commence in Vancouver, British Columbia, in March. The show revolves around a troubled detective and a mysterious arson investigator (Egerton) as they chase down the paths of two serial arsonists. While the series is fictionalized, it draws inspiration from certain true events highlighted in truth.media’s ‘Firebug’ podcast, hosted by Kary Antholis.
The series is expected to open a window into the life of former firefighter John Leonard Orr, who 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,’” reads the logline.
Dennis Lehane, the creator of ‘Black Bird,’ developed and wrote the series. He is known for serving as a writer of acclaimed shows such as HBO’s crime drama ‘The Wire,’ Audience’s thriller series ‘Mr. Mercedes,’ and HBO’s psychological thriller ‘The Outsider.’ Several of his novels were adapted into popular movies, including Clint Eastwood’s ‘Mystic River,’ Ben Affleck’s ‘Gone Baby Gone’ and ‘Live by Night,’ and Martin Scorsese’s ‘Shutter Island.’ Egerton, who worked with Lehane in ‘Black Bird,’ praised the latter’s writing, describing it as lean, active, and impactful.
Egerton completed the production of the action thriller ‘Carry On,’ in which he stars alongside Jason Bateman. He portrayed Henk Rogers in the biographical drama ‘Tetris‘ and James Keene in ‘Black Bird’ and lent his voice to Johnny in ‘Sing 2’ and Moomintroll in ‘Moominvalley.’ The actor starred in ‘Billionaire Boys Club’ as Dean Karny and took on the title role in the 2018 film ‘Robin Hood’ as well. His portrayal of Elton John in the 2019 biopic ‘Rocketman’ earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical in 2020.
Lehane serves as an executive producer, along with Egerton and Richard Plepler through Eden Productions as part of their ongoing collaboration with Apple TV+. Bradley Thomas and Dan Friedkin from Imperative Entertainment, Kary Antholis representing Crime Story Media, and Marc Smerling from Truth Podcasting Corp are also executive producing. This venture marks the renewed collaboration of Egerton, Lehane, Plepler, Antholis, and Thomas within the Apple TV+ realm. Their prior joint effort, the limited series ‘Black Bird,’ premiered on the streaming platform in July 2022.
Vancouver, the principal location of the show, previously hosted the shooting of ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians‘ and ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.’
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