Since the cast was announced and filming had begun, onlookers have been eagerly awaiting updates on Apple TV+'s starry City on Fire adaptation from Looking for Alaska duo Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. During the final day of the Television Critics Association 2023 Winter Press Tour, however, Apple finally revealed when the murder mystery series will premiere on their streamer and also released the first look at the forthcoming adaptation that shows stars Wyatt Oleff, Chase Sui Wonders, and other cast members. The eight-episode series will debut three episodes on May 12 with more to come every Friday through June 16.
Apple's latest original drama adapts the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Garth Risk Hallberg and centers on the case of a shooting in Central Park on the Fourth of July in 2003. NYU student Samantha Cicciaro (Wonders) is the victim whose life is cut tragically short that night. She had just left her friends' band's performance at her favorite club for a brief moment to meet someone when she was gunned down and, since she was alone with very little physical evidence at the scene, the chances of finding justice are slim to nil. The case only becomes more complicated when she's revealed as a key connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family stressed from trying to keep the skeletons in their closet hidden.
Samantha is shown in the first image with her close friend Charlie (Oleff), who is already dealing with the trauma of losing his father during 9/11 two years earlier. Upon Samantha's death, he goes to incredible lengths to solve the mystery of her murder. The image doesn't give much, only revealing the two of them together at night in New York, but it does emphasize the close relationship they share. The second shot, meanwhile, seems to tease the outbreak of fires around the city as it shows a stunned Charlie staring wide-eyed at a glowing scene while onlookers either panic or gawk.
Who Else Appears in the Star-Studded City on Fire?
The rest of the cast beyond Oleff and Wonders is strong, featuring Jemima Kirke, Nico Tortorella, Ashley Zukerman, Xavier Clyde, Max Milner, Alexandra Doke, Omid Abtahi, Kathleen Munroe, and John Cameron Mitchell among the ensemble. Schwartz and Savage wrote every episode of the series and served as showrunners and executive producers under their Fake Empire banner with co-executive producer Liz Rowinski. Jesse Peretz joins them as an executive producer, directing four of the eight episodes of the series.
With City on Fire premiering in the next few months, it shouldn't be too long before we get a trailer or more teasers for the murder-mystery series. For now, check out a previous interview Collider conducted with Oleff below ahead of the series release on May 12.