Given the harmful effects of tobacco use on public health and the role of the media in shaping attitudes and behavioral patterns, examining how this behavior is represented in popular series is of particular importance. This study undertakes a comparative analysis and trend examination of the representation of tobacco use in three popular Iranian home-streaming series (Malakeh Gadayān, Khatoon, Poost-e Shir) and one prominent international example (Peaky Blinders). Using a qualitative content analysis method and drawing on a combined theoretical framework, the findings indicate a troubling upward trend in the representation of tobacco in Iranian productions; the total screen time of tobacco-use scenes in the sampled popular series increased from 23 minutes in 2020 to more than 97 minutes in 2022. Qualitative analysis identified three main contexts of representation: psychological-emotional, social-actional, and semiotic-stylistic. Even more concerning is the fact that tobacco has shifted from the margins (negative characters) to the center (positive and popular characters). In comparison with the international example, in both the Iranian and international series overall, tobacco has been used as a symbolic language to convey concepts such as power, distinction, masculinity, contemplation, and the management of emotions. The findings suggest that the representation of tobacco use in the series under study, although influenced by certain established and transnational patterns of representation, cannot be reduced to a mere reflection of social reality; rather, through the selection, highlighting, and aestheticization of this behavior, the media also plays an active role in legitimizing and normalizing it. These findings underscore the need to strengthen the implementation of existing regulations, intensify oversight of the representation of tobacco use in audiovisual products, and increase the social and legal responsibility of producers.