Gudsen is inspired by John Leonard Orr, a serial arsonist who is believed to have set nearly 2,000 fires between 1984 and 1991. Like Egerton’s “Smoke” character, Orr was an arson investigator who would sometimes be part of the crew investigating his own crimes.

Based on the true-crime podcast ‘Firebug,’ the series stars Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett as detectives who team up to capture two serial arsonists terrorizing their town.