Tobacco, in its various forms, serves as a powerful narrative tool in television works. On the occasion of World Television Day, let’s revisit some shows where smoke has helped set the mood and define characters. As you read, we invite you to lighti up a Cuban mini cigar and immerse yourself in the scene.
If you know Don Draper, the enigmatic ad man from Mad Men, try this: it’s impossible to picture him without a glass of whiskey in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. In this renowned series, smoking becomes a potent device to evoke the glamour of 1960s America, a time when tobacco symbolized success and sophistication. The smoke surrounding Draper isn’t just a visual effect—it’s a way of showing how the character is trapped in his own demons, constantly evading the truth, hidden behind that seductive haze.
The same can be said of Peaky Blinders. In this post-World War I Birmingham-set series, cigarette smoke isn’t just a stylized habit—it mirrors the heavy, oppressive atmosphere. Tommy Shelby smokes with almost ritualistic intensity, as though every drag helps calm his war-tormented mind. Here, the smoke acts as a kind of emotional fog.
A similar phenomenon occurs in True Detective, the crime drama where the dark atmosphere is built, in part, by the ever-present cigarette dangling from Detective Rust Cohle’s (Matthew McConaughey) lips. His chain-smoking didn’t go unnoticed, sparking much discussion in the blogosphere about his long, deliberate drags. In this case, tobacco becomes not just a character trait but a contributor to the show’s eerie aesthetic.
In Narcos, Pablo Escobar and other drug lords’ smoking habits emphasize their power and carefree lifestyles amidst chaos. Anecdotally, while fake cigarettes are typically used in productions, Mexican actor Diego Luna reportedly switched to real ones during filming because they tasted better.
Similarly, in The Sopranos, the mafia led by Tony Soprano uses tobacco as a symbol of status, strength, and power. Smoking a cigar in this series is a near-ritualistic act, performed during moments of victory or to assert dominance.
So, the next time you see a character light up on screen, think about everything this act communicates about their mood, backstory, and environment.
