City On Fire May Not Return For Season 2 For This Key Reason

When Apple TV+’s City on Fire wraps its eight-episode run on June 16, fans shouldn’t expect the drama to rise from the ashes. Set in 2003, the limited series, which was adapted from Garth Risk Hallberg’s 2015 novel of the same name, centers on the mysterious July 4, 2003, Central Park shooting of an NYU student named Samantha (Chase Sui Wonders). Along the way, the investigation reveals her to be the “crucial connection between 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.” Though Apple TV+ has yet to renew or cancel City on Fire, the chances of a Season 2 return are slim.

Though there is precedent for a limited series reversing course, Hallberg has already said “pretty definitively that there will be no sequel” to his book — and the show will likely follow suit. Aside from a lack of new source material, the City on Fire reviews have largely been negative. While a Variety critic wrote that the show “misfires by changing the book’s time period” from the 1970s, The Hollywood Reporter called the “eight-part not-quite-murder mystery” a “non-event.” Meanwhile, the streaming adaptation currently has a 36% Rotten Tomatoes score based on critics’ reviews, though the 83% audience score is markedly higher.

In addition to Wonders, the City on Fire cast also includes: Wyatt Oleff (Charlie), Xavier Clydeas (Mercer), Jemima Kirke (Regan), Nico Tortorella (William), Ashley Zukerman (Keith), Max Milner (Nicky Chaos), Alexandra Doke (Sewer Girl), Omid Abtahi (Detective Ali Parsa), Kathleen Munroe (Detective PJ McFadden), and John Cameron Mitchell (Amory).

Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage helmed the Apple TV+ series and consulted with the novel’s author along the way. Ahead of the show’s May 2023 premiere, Hallberg explained to Literary Hub that he had a “nominal role in the production,” but felt he’d already done “what [he] wanted to do” with the story and tried to take a hands-off approach this time around.

“As a novelist, I know zilch about how to make good TV. ... And I knew my showrunners, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, were good at making TV people like to watch,” he elaborated. “Josh and Stephanie and I talked at length about a specific plot deviation from the book, which I endorsed, and I suggested a different plot move elsewhere that might create some of the same effect. To reveal the change would be a spoiler, but I was happy when they took the note.”

Hallberg was ultimately surprised by “how shockingly faithful” the show is to his book. “You’ll see some deviations, some new things, particularly in Act II, but also some ingenious acts of translation, opened up by the daring leap forward in time,” the writer said. “And in all the places that matter, it’s the same people, the same plot, the same city I love, the same longings and frustrations (even some of the same dialogue!), the same spirit, the same juxtapositions in tone.”