Apple TV+ Summary:
A college student is shot in Central Park on July 4, 2003. The investigation connects 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.
FYA Summary:
Let me set the scene. It’s New Year’s Eve, on the cusp of 2024, and I’m talking with Leila about TV shows over drinks while wearing a silly party hat. All of a sudden, her eyes widen, her eyebrows shoot up, and she practically shouts, “Have you seen City on Fire?” And I’m like, “No?” And she’s like, “OMG WHY ISN’T EVERYONE WATCHING THIS SHOW I DON’T UNDERSTAND!” And yes the music is loud but she’s really yelling because she’s incredibly frustrated by the fact that a show created by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, who, no big deal, were behind series like The O.C. and Gossip Girl, has absolutely ZERO awareness. I myself am shocked because how did I miss this?!! Where have I been?! And then Leila reveals the answer: because it’s buried deep in the piles of content on Apple TV+.
Obviously, this is a HEINOUS TRAVESTY, so I swore to Leila that I would watch the show and write about it here on FYA.
Fortunately for me and really, for all of us, the show is a juicy, juicy morsel of drama and early 2000s nostalgia. Of course I don’t want to spoil anything here (even though some of the twists and turns probably won’t shock you, and that’s okay! It’s nice to guess correctly and feel smug about it), but I’ll elaborate a little further on the official description.
So, the show jumps back and forth between 2002 and 2003, and at the very beginning of the series, we discover that Sam, a bohemian NYU freshman, has been shot in Central Park. She’s at the center of a very complicated web of people: Charlie, a high school senior who’s in love with her; a crazy rich Upper West Side family with some potentially shady business dealings; a group of punk anarchists living in an abandoned building; and a charming heroin addict and his earnest, do-gooder boyfriend. As the show progresses, the connections between all of these characters are slowly revealed to the tune of a truly excellent early aughts soundtrack.
Familiar Faces:
Wyatt Oleff as Charlie; Chase Sui Wonders as Sam
Chase Sui does a fantastic job of NOT being a manic pixie dream girl while wearing all the trappings of one. It’s easy to see why people are drawn to Sam, with her adventurous spirit and her flickers of vulnerability, and the show wouldn’t work if you didn’t care deeply about the girl at the center of it all.
Charlie, on the other hand, is my least favorite character. Wait, scratch that, my second least favorite character (more on the other guy below). To be fair, it’s a tough role to play the eager, fumbling, awkward kid with the dead dad who falls under the spell of a girl who is DEFINITELY way too cool for him. But yeah, that’s Charlie, and he is a whole bunch of eye rolls.
Jemima Kirke as Regan
Okay, now HERE, here we have an absolute queen. Jemima Kirke is sleek and elegant yet somehow totally real as Regan, the COO of her family’s company and heir apparent, who also has time to be a pretty great mom actually. Her husband just had an affair, because he’s an idiot, and she’s struggling to keep everything at home and at work (her dad, the patriarch, has dementia) afloat. I dare you NOT to root for Regan because it’s scientifically impossible.
Nico Tortorella as William
Hey look, it’s Josh from Younger! Nico plays a VERY different (but just as charming) role as William, a frenetic artist and drug addict who also happens to be Regan’s estranged brother. Thanks to Nico being, well, the weirdo that they are, William manages to be eccentric without being annoying, and the character’s evolution is arguably the best part of the show.
John Cameron Mitchell as Amory
Holy Hedwig, does John Cameron Mitchell have the TIME OF HIS LIFE playing Amory, a snooty, slimy, villain-you-love-to-hate. Unlike the rest of the characters, who may or not be dubious in nature and motive, it is crystal clear from the minute you lay eyes on his white-streaked dye job that Amory is a Bad Guy. JCM makes it somehow refreshing to watch the classic, campy machinations of a greedy white man, and his smirk alone should win some kind of Emmy.
The cast of this show is pretty sprawling, so I’ll stop there, except to say that Mercer (Xavier Clyde), William’s long-suffering boyfriend, annoyed the shit out of me. It’s like, dude, you know who you’re dating. Stop being so self-righteous and either break up with him or take the time to learn about how addiction works. Anyway!
Oh and one more shout out to Omid Abtahi, who plays Detective Al Parsa. The empathy and straight up gravitas he brings to the role is more than, frankly, this show deserves. (And I love this show.)
Couch-Sharing Capability: Ablaze With Speculation
While you’ll be able to predict some of the reveals before they happen, this series makes guessing a hell of a lot of fun. I can see why Leila was bemoaning not knowing anyone else who had watched it, because you will DEFINITELY want to talk about it. It’s also ideal to have at least one other person next to you so you can yell at certain characters (ahem, Charlie) and not sound like you’re just talking to yourself.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: City on Fireball
Okay, so I’m not saying, like, break out the shots (the above wordplay was just too easy to resist), but you will definitely want to imbibe while watching this show. From the fancy townhouse party flowing with champagne to the grungy rock shows splattered with beer and whiskey (among other vices), the characters in City on Fire are all about a good time, so you can be too. There aren’t any nuanced complexities that you need a sober mind to capture, plus alcohol will definitely help you suspend disbelief that punks living in an abandoned house would actually keep it clean.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Dynamite
City on Fire is an absolute BLAST, and it really is a shame that no one knows about it (thank you, Leila, for evangelizing!). Sure, it’s not prestige television, but true to the legacy of Savage and Schwartz, it’s a series you can lavishly indulge in, with compelling characters, scandalous drama, and the rich backdrop of early aughts New York City. With the loss of “The” CW, I fear for a world where shows like this no longer exist, so give it a watch and spread the word! (And then come fight me if you actually like Mercer.)
Gah!! Thank you for the recommendation! I am currently alternating between rewatching The OC and One Tree Hill and have been bemoaning the fact that shows of this ilk don’t seem to be made anymore! Love me a good teen drama. Can’t wait to dive in 😍 (and if you have any other current teen drama rec’s I am all ears!)
Happy to help! 😁 We’ve got a lot of Rewatch Projects on the site for juicy teen shows, including (not to state an obvious one but) Dawson’s Creek. We’ve also got a Rewatch for Felicity which is a MUST if you’ve never seen it.