After the city suddenly cancelled an incentive for landlords to hold units for families with vouchers—covering one month’s rent while the subsidy application is processed—families in shelter and legal groups won a temporary court order to keep it alive.

A rental building in The Bronx. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

On July 13, the Montanez family will mark a somber anniversary. Milagro Montanez, her husband, and her high-school aged daughter will have been living in a homeless shelter in Park Slope, Brooklyn for two years.

They are three of the 130,000 people living in New York City’s shelters. “People like us just want an apartment. That’s all we want,” said Montanez.

The good news: they have a city-issued housing voucher. The bad news: it’s been really hard to use.

Between discrimination against voucher holders, a tight housing market, and a frustrating application process, it can take months to find an apartment with a CityFHEPS voucher, plus more time for the city to process an application.

As City Limits first reported, the city eliminated a provision intended to make the process smoother in late May. For leases starting before July 1 of this year, the city would pay landlords one month’s rent to hold the unit while it inspected the premises and processed the application. New leases would no longer get the payment.

Landlords, brokers, lawyers, and tenants told City Limits that eliminating the payment would make it harder for landlords to take vouchers.

The Legal Aid Society sued last week. The group argued that, in terminating the incentive with little notice and no opportunity for public comment, the Department of Social Services (DSS) violated the city’s administrative rules and procedures.

The decision “lacked any stated rationale and will cause homeless individuals and families to spend additional months in shelter, at substantially increased costs to the City itself,” the lawsuit read.

“The city provided absolutely no rationale for this decision, which rescinds a long standing, extremely successful policy,” said Pavita Krishnaswamy, supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Society who is arguing the case in court. 

Earlier this month, a DSS spokesperson told City Limits that the incentive, which has been in operation since at least 2019, was always going to be temporary. They added that it was being terminated as part of a cost-cutting budget plan as the city rolled out a new application data system that it hoped would cut processing times.

Friday, Judge Lyle L. Frank issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits the city from ending the unit hold incentive until he can review the merits of the case.

“On my desk right now I have more lost apartments and more people in protracted move-ins than ever before. So this was a very inopportune and inconvenient and horrible, even tragic time to take away the unit hold incentive,” added Stephanie Rudolph, a lawyer who works with housing voucher holders at Legal Aid.

Both DSS and the New York City Law Department declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

In March, the Montanez family found an apartment in Midtown that would rent to them. But they’ve been stuck in the application process since.

“Now I’m scared that I’m gonna lose this apartment, because it’s already been five months,” said Montanez.

Housing advocates at a rally outside City Hall in 2023, to call for expanding CityFHEPS. (Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit)

A frustrating application process

Montanez is an assistant teacher and her husband works at Amazon. They make around $4,000 a month—not enough to afford an apartment in the city and feed their family without help.

CityFHEPS vouchers require families to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. The city picks up the rest. But that calculation gets complicated when low-income families like the Montanezes work multiple jobs with variable hours.

Sometimes a teacher is out and Montanez works more. Some days work at the Amazon warehouse is slow. Other days her husband gets 12-hour shifts. “Nobody works a job that is steadily an even number every single time. A check goes up, a check goes down,” said Montanez.

Each time a family’s income changes, the city needs to recalculate the tenant contribution and issue a new shopping letter (a document that lets them search for an apartment with the promise of a voucher).

Reprocessing applications can delay move-ins and frustrate landlords and tenants alike. Rebudgeting has lost Montanez’s family six apartments in the two years she’s been looking, she says. “How many times do we have to get re-budgeted just to get approved for this?” asked Montanez.

She found landlords willing to take their voucher in New Lots in East New York, by Church Avenue’s G stop, and on President Street in Brooklyn, but lost them all.

“That [President Street apartment] really hurt that because the landlord was so sweet with us. He was like, ‘I want you people to be here,’” Montanez said. But delays with the family’s voucher application meant he’d be forgoing months of rent.

“He tried his best to hold it,” said Montanez. “He’s not going to hold an apartment for months without rent. That’s not being money hungry. It’s called common sense.”

While still variable, DSS told City Limits the average processing time was about three weeks. A report from State Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli found cases where it took up to 10 months (DSS has disputed the findings of the report).

“[Department of Homeless Services] approves the CityFHEPS, [Human Resources Administration] sends the checks. So how is it that you’re not working together?” asked Montanez. “Please make it make sense.”

DSS, which oversees both DHS and HRA, says that new data systems will help reduce the time it takes to process a voucher application. The spokesperson said that 90 percent of applications were being processed by the new system, called CurRent.

“We are not seeing the improvements that they are claiming,” said Krishnaswamy.

Lawyers who work with tenants on voucher applications were skeptical of the city’s stated reasons for cutting the program.

“It’s frankly absurd,” said Rudolph. “This claim that the unit hold incentive is somehow not going to become necessary because they have become so efficient.”

A “for rent” sign in Brooklyn. (Photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)

Sticks and carrots

Some brokers and landlords are also concerned about the simultaneous loss of the unit hold incentive with the implementation of the FARE act, new legislation that requires whoever hires the broker to pay the broker’s fee.

Previously, when a landlord hired a broker and accepted a tenant with a CityFHEPS voucher, the city would pay half the broker’s fee (if there was one). Since low income tenants can’t afford to hire brokers themselves, the loss of city contributions to broker fees could be another expense that potentially discourages landlords from participating in the program.

The city did not respond by the time of publication to whether or not it will continue to contribute to broker’s fees for apartments leased with CityFHEPS.

The FARE act took aim at brokers who would collect large fees from incoming tenants without doing much work: sometimes asking for thousands of dollars just for opening the door to show an apartment.

But unlike leasing to market-rate tenants, brokers working with a voucher must coordinate with city agencies, housing specialists, and tenants, sometimes for months, to get approved for the program.

“They’re doing a lot of work and should be paid for it, in my opinion,” said Rudolph.

Landlords have to wait for the city to process applications, and submit the apartment to an inspection. Sometimes that requires forgoing months of rent from a cash tenant. 

But, once complete, a voucher is guaranteed rent. And until recently, owners and brokers would get a hold incentive or collect a fee.

“I think we need to balance the sticks and the carrots,” said Rudolph.

Searching for housing with a voucher is already taxing.

“I can’t even look for a job because I’m constantly [looking for apartments],” said Montanez.

The vouchers only pay so much—$2,782 for a family of three searching for a two-bedroom in 2024—making it hard to access certain neighborhoods. A February City Limits investigation found that voucher holders were concentrated in just a few parts of the five boroughs: The Bronx had 46 percent of CityFHEPS vouchers, but just 10 percent of the city’s population.

Housing specialists (social workers who help people in shelters find apartments with vouchers) suggested units in the Bronx or Queens, Montanez said. But she wanted Brooklyn.

“I want to be where my family and I are able to commute to work, my daughter’s school, things like that. If I want that then I have to look on my own,” she said.

Rudolph thinks financial incentives for landlords gave voucher holders more options.

“In certain neighborhoods brokers rarely get 15 percent of the annualized rent as a broker fee,” Rudolph said. A competitive edge for voucher holders can help level the playing field. “It really does motivate certain brokers and landlords to work together to get people with programs.”

Judge Frank’s order extends the unit hold incentive through at least Aug. 6, when he scheduled another court appearance. 

For now, it provides some relief for voucher holders and lawyers for whom the loss of the hold incentive threatened negotiations with landlords leasing for July or August.

Lawyers for Legal Aid are optimistic that Judge Frank will see the importance of the issue for getting homeless New Yorkers housed in a time of crisis.

“An agency doesn’t get to engage in this kind of action with absolutely no reason provided then ex post facto or after the fact say to you, to the media, or to anybody else, ‘Oh, this was actually our rationale,’” said Krishnaswamy.

Montanez hopes that if the incentive persists, it will make their prospective landlord more likely to keep holding their apartment for them.

“We’re good people. We work hard, we pay taxes, and we’re still getting the short end of the stick,” she said.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post CityFHEPS Voucher Holders & Legal Aid Sue to Preserve Landlord Incentive appeared first on City Limits.

Christopher Colwell of Valparaiso, Indiana, teared up a bit as his grandmother sang with her church choir during Northwest Indiana Pridefest earlier this month, calling the moment a haven of acceptance in a state and nation that’s become increasingly hostile to queer men like him.

The grandson and grandma briefly embraced after her performance on a stage adorned with rainbow-colored balloons and a giant Pride flag.

“I can’t stand the current climate in this state. It don’t represent its people anymore,” said Colwell, 25, at the June 8 event at Riverview Park in Lake Station. “I have a really poor outlook on the country as a whole.”

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National pride is declining in America. And it’s splitting by party lines, new polling shows

While Pride events in the past were largely celebrations of the rights the LGBTQ community has secured — as well as promotions for greater representation and acceptance — many activists say the focus this year has been on girding protections and freedoms that are being actively rolled back on the federal level as well as in many Republican-led states such as Indiana.

“For the LGBTQ community, there’s a lot of anxiety about the rights that we have and are they going to stick around much longer?” said the Rev. Leah Peksenak, president of NWI Pridefest Inc. and pastor of two northwest Indiana churches. “It’s less about let’s celebrate what we have and try to push for more. Now it’s like, we might have to really dig in our heels and refuse to relinquish what we’ve already won. Because we’re not going backward.”

This is in stark contrast to more liberal states such as Illinois, which have been strengthening LGBTQ rights and protections in the face of a national movement to rescind many of them.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul earlier this month filed an amicus brief, along with 20 other states, defending a Michigan law that bars health officials from practicing so-called conversion therapy on LGBTQ children. He’s also spoken out against a Trump administration attempt to ban transgender military service and change to the passport application process, arguing they harm transgender and nonbinary Americans.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has publicly pledged to protect the community’s rights, as well.

“I’ve been marching for LGBTQ+ rights since Pride was considered a protest,” Pritzker posted on Facebook earlier this month, kicking off a series of Pride events statewide that culminated with the iconic Chicago Pride Parade in the Northalsted neighborhood Sunday. “And I’ll continue to march under this administration as a recommitment to the fight for equality today. No matter who you are or who you love, you have a home here in Illinois.”

Although Indiana has always been more conservative in terms of LGBTQ protections, Peksenak has seen more brazenness in the language and policymaking of elected officials in recent months.

A few days before the northwest Indiana Pride event, Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith posted a “Pride month alert” on the social media site X, warning parents that “the rainbow beast is coming for your kids!”

“Corporate America and government institutions are launching their annual siege on childhood innocence — and this year’s Pride Month agenda is more aggressive than ever,” the message said.

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan of Indiana’s 1st District greets people, June 8, 2025, during Northwest Indiana Pridefest at Riverview Park in Lake Station. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Many LGBTQ groups were outraged a few months ago, when Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made an April Fools’ Day post joking that “The Left wins. … They have finally brainwashed me,” while standing beside a Pride flag.

In March, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a pair of executive orders targeting “extreme gender ideology.”

One barred transgender women and girls from participating in women and girls sports in Indiana schools; the other declared that there are only two genders. Both mirrored similar executive orders signed by President Donald Trump.

Out Leadership’s annual State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index released this month found Illinois to have among the strongest protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other queer residents, while Indiana was one of the lowest-ranked states in the nation.

The global LGBTQ rights organization’s state-by-state report showed great disparity across the country, with the nation as a whole growing more discriminatory — and divided — when it comes to LGBTQ rights and safeguards compared to previous years.

“Political polarization is widening, and following the 2024 elections, a new wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws is sweeping the nation,” the report stated.

Logan Casey, director of policy research for the national nonprofit think tank Movement Advancement Project, said the result is often vastly different freedoms and levels of safety for LGBTQ folks, depending on the part of the country where they live, work or visit.

“There is a very dramatic and clear difference from one state to the next when it comes to LGBTQ policies and protections — so a real patchwork,” he said. “In a sense, there are two different Americas for LGBTQ people.”

‘Freedom isn’t linear’

Colwell’s grandmother, 70-year-old Maggie Reister, said she was proud to perform at the local Pridefest with fellow worshippers from her Unitarian church, particularly amid such a tumultuous time in history for many LGBTQ folks.

“I know my grandson and his friends are afraid. They’re more afraid now,” she said. “I know bad things happen, they’ve always happened, but I think they’re more afraid.”

Years ago, Reister attended rallies and protests demanding that governments legalize gay marriage. Then in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states couldn’t deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a decision that seemed to mark a turning point for the nation, she recalled.

Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the landmark decision.

Yet now, Reister fears the hard-earned rights and protections for the LGBTQ community are slowly slipping away in large swaths of the country.

“I think the conservative faction is more emboldened,” she added.

A choir performs during an interfaith service, June 8, 2025, during Northwest Indiana Pridefest at Riverview Park in Lake Station. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric by politicians have a trickle-down effect, which can encourage broader discrimination by the public and discourage allies from showing support, said Peksenak, who is affectionately nicknamed “the Rainbow Rev.”

The pastor said Pridefest organizers in northwest Indiana last year received one violent threat, which was frightening but the lone incident. This year, organizers received several similar messages in the run-up to the event, Peksenak said.

“Because of politics on a national scale, there just seems to be more and more permission for actual people to be loudly hateful, even just between last year and this year,” Peksenak said. “So there seems to be more vitriol.”

Like many other Pride events nationwide, the northwest Indiana festival faced a recent financial crisis when corporate sponsors who had pledged funding dropped out following Trump’s election in November.

“After the election results, they pulled out. Overnight,” Peksenak said. “They all closed ranks. And they didn’t say it was because of the election. They didn’t say it was because of blowback. They said things like ‘Oh, it’s just not in the budget this year.’ But we’re not stupid.”

Going into June, San Francisco Pride had faced a $200,000 budget gap after corporate sponsors withdrew their support; KC Pride in Kansas City, Missouri, lost about $200,000, which was about half its annual budget, according to The Associated Press.

Anheuser-Busch dropped its sponsorship of PrideFest in St. Louis after 30 years of support, leaving organizers with a $150,000 budget shortfall.

Attendees browse the vendor booths, June 8, 2025, during Northwest Indiana Pridefest at Riverview Park in Lake Station. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Several events nationwide had to scale back their celebrations because of a loss of funding; in some cases, organizers said corporate sponsors asked to remain anonymous.

“If you come to Pride this year, that’s a revolutionary act,” said Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride. “You are sending a message to those in Washington that, here in San Francisco, we still have the same values that we’ve always had — you can love who you love here. We’re not going to retreat from that.”

In northwest Indiana, organizers had to scramble to find new sponsors: An interfaith coalition of local churches and synagogues teamed up to raise events funds, each committing about $1,000 to $2,500, along with several steadfast local businesses, Peksenak said.

“Since November has been a really rude awakening,” the pastor added. “There is a general sense across the whole community that, oh wait, freedom isn’t linear. We can lose ground. And we actually have to work and engage to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

To stay or leave?

Colwell said he has no plans to leave Indiana, despite the rhetoric and policies of many of its officials.

He cited his supportive local family and friends as part of his reason for staying. Reister added that she loves her northwest Indiana church and much of the greater community, which share her commitment to LGBTQ freedoms and safety.

While state laws can differ vastly, Casey of the Movement Advancement Project noted that the lived experience of individual LGBTQ folks and their loved ones can often vary by community, neighborhood or sections of a state.

Prejudice still exists in states with pro-LGBTQ policies; states with fewer protections might have cities or municipalities with thriving LGBTQ resources and legal safeguards, he added.

“There is absolutely a polarization in the policy environment for LGBTQ people right now,” said Elana Redfield, federal policy director at the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. “But I would be hesitant to characterize any state as clearly pro-LGBTQ or anti-LGBTQ. Because on the one hand, many states have really strong policy elements but still have local or regional elements that might not be quite so supportive.”

The Rev. Leah Peksenak offers hugs to attendees while a choir performs at the conclusion of an interfaith service, June 8, 2025, during Northwest Indiana Pridefest at Riverview Park in Lake Station. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

The opposite can also be true: Redfield recalled recently speaking at an event in Indianapolis, where she noticed that even the roadside billboards grew more progressive as she left rural areas of Indiana and headed into the more liberal-leaning capital. There, she received a warm reception with engaging conversation about LGBTQ issues.

But discriminatory language by politicians and anti-LGBTQ policies can translate to real harm for individuals, including affecting their mental health, she said.

“Right now, we have this exacerbation of official language that is dismissive … of LGBTQ experiences and in some cases outright exclusionary,” she said. “Our research does show that anti-LGBTQ policy debates can have a real, measurable negative impact on mental health.”

There can be an enormous emotional cost “that comes from having your right to marry being debated or whether you have a right to exist or not being debated — or whether you can play sports or whether you can access a bathroom,” she added.

A Williams Institute survey of roughly 300 transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse American adults released in May found that nearly half have already moved or wanted to move to “more affirming places” within the United States, while 45% of those polled desired to leave the country. Most of the respondents cited anti-LGBTQ policies as the reason for wanting to move.

This is a troubling trend to Casey.

“It’s easy for a lot of people to think, ‘Well you should move somewhere else where the laws are better,’” he said. “While that obviously makes sense in a way, the larger point is that people shouldn’t be forced to choose between the place that they call home and their rights or protections.”

But he says that’s the quandary facing many LGBTQ folks and their loved ones nationwide, particularly in much of the South and Midwest.

“Those are choices that our politicians are making to force those sorts of really impossible life decisions for so many people,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By BROOKE LEFFERTS

NEW YORK (AP) — World-famous chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa has been tantalizing foodies for decades as he built his empire to include more than 50 upscale restaurants and several luxury hotels. The new documentary, “Nobu,” reveals the man behind the cuisine in an intimate look at how he found success, despite several major setbacks.

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The film traces Matsuhisa’s journey to creating his unique fusion cuisine, blending traditional Japanese dishes with ingredients discovered while living in Peru. Matsuhisa, now 76, was driven to run his own restaurant but faced obstacles, including financial woes, doubters and a devastating fire at one of his first spots.

Candid and sometimes emotional interviews with Matsuhisa are interspersed with mouthwatering shots of his “Nobu-style” culinary treats, made with a precision and standard of excellence his diners have come to expect. “Nobu” releases widely July 1.

Director Matt Tyrnauer and the chef himself sat down with The Associated Press to discuss his perseverance, creativity and influence on the culture. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: One of the most dynamic things about the film is the gorgeous food. How did you approach it, Matt?

TYRNAUER: Nobu started as a graphic designer, and you can really see it in the plates. The totality of his vision for creating a new type of cuisine, which he calls “Nobu style,” or the signature dishes, was really interesting, but also the beauty of the presentation, which is so important. We had cameras everywhere — on the ceiling, we had them over the shoulder, and anything to kind of get the precision and the detail. At a certain point in the film, you see him correcting some of the chefs who work for him and it’s a pretty tough process because he’s a perfectionist. I wanted to show that.

AP: There are many difficult moments in the film and you have to relive some pain from your past. How was that process for you Chef Nobu?

MATSUHISA: Even though my life was pain, but I learned from this pain. Also I learned lots and lots of love from people who supported me. So nothing is losing, in my experience. I’d like to say, at my age, I can say, I did my life.

AP: Matt, were there any surprises when you were shooting the film?

TYRNAUER: When he broke down on camera and couldn’t stop crying, it was a big surprise. I didn’t understand the true wound of the loss of Nobu’s best friend, Sakai. I’ve interviewed a lot of people. I’ve never had anyone really be so emotional. I thought it was extraordinary and very beautiful, actually, and very honest. Nobu invited me to go see the grave of his dear friend who had taken his own life and the pain and the suffering that we see on camera is unexpected in a movie that you think is just going to be about great food and the artistry of being a chef. There’s a soulfulness to it.

___

If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

___

This image released by Vertical Entertainment shows chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, left, and Robert De Niro in a scene from the documentary “Nobu.” (Vertical Entertainment via AP)

AP: Your world travel helped you develop your Nobu style. You’re still traveling and visiting restaurants. Can you talk about that?

MATSUHISA: I made the Nobu corporate teams. These teams that are traveling with me … they stand by at all the locations, and they set up, then they’re training for the next generations. The Nobu teams keep growing like a family, and they (are) working there long times so they understand Nobu’s quality, philosophy, the passions, how to do service. We have good teams.

AP: From “The Bear” to reality TV, there is high interest in what goes on in restaurant kitchens in pop culture now. Did that play into the film?

TYRNAUER: What I wanted to do was show the process and put that on display. Part of the secret to his success is that he’s actually created a very civilized culture, and it comes from the top down. I think that’s why he goes around the world like he does and visits all these restaurants and trains the chefs personally in his own style. But his own temperament is exemplary.

AP: What do you want people to take away from the film?

MATSUHISA: I’m very glad because I didn’t give up on my life. That’s the message. Even (when) the young people has a problem, I like to say, “Don’t give up. Just don’t forget about the ambitions, passions and go step by step.”

A fire investigator (Taron Egerton) is reluctantly paired with a police detective (Jurnee Smollett) to work the cases of two separate serial arsonists in the Apple TV+ crime thriller “Smoke.” One of the culprits won’t be a mystery to anyone familiar with the podcast “Firebug,” from which the nine-episode series draws fictionalized inspiration.

That’s not a spoiler; “Firebug” is cited in the opening credits. A true crime podcast about a real arsonist who was eventually caught, someone a lot like the person at the center of the podcast forms the basis for one of the characters here. The reveal is meant to be a twist (though it is heavily telegraphed) and it comes at the show’s midway point, when we already know the identity of the other arsonist, because he might as well be followed around by a blinking arrow pointing to him. So the question becomes: Will the show’s characters figure out what we already know, and will that process be interesting? Or will it drag on, filling time?

Most streaming shows suffer from “shoulda been a movie” syndrome, so you can probably guess the answer. But “Smoke” doesn’t have enough meat on its bones even for that. Created by Dennis Lehane (best known as the author of novels such as “Mystic River” and “Gone, Baby, Gone”), the series seems to have aspirations of Scorsese, but plays like an unintentional parody, working hard to capture “gritty” instead of just being gritty. Vibes abound, but they aren’t effective without a solidly constructed narrative.

Sometimes people set buildings on fire for the insurance payout. Sometimes they are driven by other reasons, and “Smoke” offers a paper-thin psychological study: Arsonists commit their crimes because they are filled with feelings of inadequacy, neglect and alienation, and this is how they regain a measure of power.

Two arsonists have been targeting a rainy, nondescript town and they’ve managed to elude the best efforts of Dave Gudsen (Egerton). His investigative know-how is supposedly legendary, but the arsons remain unsolved and there are new fires that keep following the same patterns. So he’s paired with Det. Michelle Calderon (Smollett), who is there to help narrow down the suspects.

He’s an ex-firefighter haunted by dreams of being trapped in an inferno. Married with a teenage stepson, he’s turned his real-life work experience into fodder for a novel. Great stuff, he thinks to himself! Outwardly, he is the picture of competence and regular guy-ness. Privately, he is both wildly overconfident and deeply insecure.

She’s an ex-Marine with a tough exterior. She’s only been a cop for a few years, and this new assignment does not seem good for her career, but someone in the police department has shuffled her off to arson investigations, likely due to her history of bad decisions, including an affair with a toxic coworker who is also her boss.

They are both outrunning demons, but otherwise, they are like oil and vinegar. Dave drops F-bombs liberally, but is the kind of person who flashes a big smile to massage a situation. Michelle has a chip on her shoulder and takes more of a dogged, sledgehammer approach.

Tonally, the show is all over the place, laying on the moody theatrics one moment, mocking Dave’s writerly pretenses the next. Greg Kinnear plays Dave’s worn-out boss, with John Leguizamo as the dirtbag ex-cop who was Dave’s partner before Michelle came along, and Anna Chlumsky is an investigator who joins the team late in the game. Everyone is compromised and not particularly good at their jobs, but the characters are too flat to register as meaningful. Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine especially is too good an actor to be stuck in the role of a troubled, slack-jawed man who might have developmental disabilities, but is rendered as an awkward person who has been treated poorly all his life and has finally been pushed over the edge. Only Smollett really shines.

The show is pulpy without being entertaining, with a ludicrous showdown in the finale that’s followed a few scenes later by another, even more ludicrous staredown. Plenty of smoke. No fire.

“Smoke” — 1.5 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: Apple TV+

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.