Where does the show Smoke take place? Setting of the Apple TV+ series explored

Apple TV's Smoke straight away pulls the audience watching at home into a tense-filled slow-burn world, and a big part of that pulling comes purely from the setting.

The Apple TV+ series takes place in Umberland, a fictional town made for the show, located somewhere in the fictional state of Orrington, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.

From the very first scene in Smoke, this town feels lived in, yet it feels daunting at the same time. This is the kind of town where you'd think you'd find a secret at every corner you turn and walk to.

While Umberland isn't a real and actual place, it still is at the crux of the story, shaping the drama's mood while also shaping every character's next move.

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Umberland: A fictional town in Smoke that feels real, even when it isn’t

In Apple TV's Smoke, Umberland isn't just a setting because the further you look into it, it's practically a character on its own.

Creator Dennis Lehane has most of the action take place in a present-day Pacific Northwest town with streets, rain-filled roads, and neighborhoods that seem to hold their breath. The choice to build a fictional town rather than to place the show in a real and actual city lets the story have and breathe in its atmosphere.

The happenings in Umberland? Yep, they do echo real-life tragedies, notably a series of devastating arsons in California during the 1980s, but here the names, places, and timelines have all been re-worked.

The "Old Sully's fire" has an eerie resemblance to the actual Ole's Home Center blaze of 1984, but here, it plays out in the fictional location of Orrington.

Within Umberland, smaller places like Trolley Town add much more to the bigger narrative on hand. This tightly knit neighborhood, which is home to the elusive "Milk-Jug" arsonist, allows the show to focus on everyday life while still maintaining the tension of a manhunt.

From fast food shops, a few characters lingering after dark, Trolley Town feels real enough to make you wonder if you've ever had your car driven through the area before.

By giving Umberland its own lore and rhythm, Lehane and his team make a place that's as unpredictable as the people who live in it. The streets in Smoke may be fictional, but their pulse is mostly grounded in reality.

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Why Umberland shapes the story’s tone

Part of what makes Smoke so gripping to watch is how the setting mirrors the psychological state of the characters in the show. Umberland is damp, moody, and heavy with an almost invisible fog of unease, and this is the perfect stage for a show that talks about obsession, guilt, and moral gray areas.

In Smoke, Dave Gudsen, played by Taron Egerton, works here as the local fire department's lead arson investigator. From the very start, his world is defined by the geography in Umberland: small enough that everyone knows someone who knows you, but dangerous enough for danger to lurk undetected.

When his new partner, Michelle Calderon (Jurnee Smollett), joins the hunt for two dangerous arsonists, the town's maze-like streets with shifting weather and tight-knit pockets of community become part of the investigation's challenge.

Instead of being put in a box by actual maps or police records, Smoke makes use of Umberland to amplify its themes. Here, the neighborhoods are drawn with precision. Some are friendly during in day, others menacing no matter what the hour.

In many ways, Umberland dictates the pace of the narration and the story being told in Apple TV's Smoke. It's the kind of place where you can't rush for answers because the truth? The truth is always hidden in alleys, warehouses, and even at dimly lit diners. This slow-burn quality doesn't just serve and cater to the plot, but rather, it becomes the plot's crux.

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Smoke might have been inspired by real-life events, but Umberland is the series's own invention as a fictional Pacific Northwest town built to hold all its shadows, secrets, and fire-lit drama.

By making up a setting that feels so real and right, Dennis Lehane gives the audience a place they can almost smell and hear, even if they'll never find it on a Google or an Apple map. But, in Smoke, the story nonetheless lives and breathes through the streets of Umberland.

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