Fire Country is an American actiondrama television series created by Max Thieriot, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater for CBS, starring Thieriot.[1] The series premiered on October 7, 2022. On January 6, 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on February 16, 2024.[2][3] In March 2024, the series was renewed for a third season.[4]
Bode Donovan is a young convict with a troubled past. Hoping to redeem himself and shorten his prison sentence, he volunteers for the California Conservation Camp Program in which prisoners assist the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.[5] He ends up getting assigned to his hometown in Northern California where he must work alongside former friends, other inmates, and elite firefighters putting out the huge fires that plague the region.
Cast
Main
Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan (aka Bode Leone), an inmate firefighter seeking redemption.[6]
Kevin Alejandro as Manny Perez, Gabriela's father and a Cal Fire firefighter, formerly Captain of Three Rock.
Jordan Calloway as Jake Crawford, ex-boyfriend of Riley and Gabriela, a Cal Fire firefighter, now Station 42 Captain.
Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez, Manny's daughter, a Cal Fire firefighter and paramedic.
Jules Latimer as Eve Edwards, Bode & Jake’s best friend, and a Cal Fire firefighter, now Captain of Three Rock.
Diane Farr as Sharon Leone, Bode and Riley's mother, Vince's wife and a Cal Fire firefighter, formerly Division Chief.
Billy Burke as Vince Leone, Bode and Riley's father, Sharon's husband and Cal Fire Battalion Chief.
Recurring
W. Tré Davis as Freddy "Goat" Mills, inmate firefighter and Bode's friend.[7] (Season 1, Guest Season 2)
Michael Trucco as Luke Leone, Vince's brother and Cal Fire Battalion Chief.
Jade Pettyjohn as Riley Leone, Vince and Sharon's deceased daughter, Bode's younger sister and Eve's best friend. (Season 1)
Fiona Rene as Rebecca Lee, female inmate and former attorney. (Season 1)
Sabina Gadecki as Cara, Bode's ex-girlfriend and an aspiring ER nurse. (Season 1-2)
April Amber Telek as Retired Fire Chief Dolly Burnet, Bode's aunt. (Season 1)
Aaron Pearl as Retired Fire Chief Paulie Burnett, Bode's uncle. (Season 1)
Zach Tinker as Collin O'Reilly/Alex Shawcross, a probationary firefighter. (Season 1)[8]
Katrina Reynolds as Cookie, Freddy's girlfriend. (Season 1)[9]
Karen LeBlanc as Dr. Lilly Crawford, Jake's mother and a cardiothoracic surgeon in LA. (Season 1)
Kane Brown as Robin, a train hopper who helps Cal Fire with victims of a train crash. (Season 1)[11]
Morena Baccarin as Mickey Fox, a Edgewater County Sheriff's Sergeant and a Sheriff with fifteen years on the job, who knows every part of Edgewater and its inhabitants. She is Sharon's estranged step-sister. [12]
Paola Núñez as Roberta, Gabriela's mother and Manny's ex wife.[13]
In November 2021, CBS announced it was developing a series with Thieriot, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, based on Thierot's experiences growing up in Northern California fire country. The potential series was then known as Cal Fire.[47] In February 2022, a series pilot was green-lit.[48] The pilot was written by Phelan and Rater, with Thieriot as co-writer, and directed by James Strong. In May 2022, CBS picked up the series, now titled Fire Country.[49] Tia Napolitano would serve as the series showrunner.[50] On October 19, 2022, the series received a full season order.[51] On January 6, 2023, CBS renewed the series for a second season.[2] On March 12, 2024, the series was renewed for a third season.[4]
Filming
Filming for the first season began on July 21, 2022, in Vancouver, Canada, and concluded on April 5, 2023.[52] The series uses the nearby village of Fort Langley to portray the fictional Northern California town of Edgewater.[53] Additionally establishing shots for the city of Edgewood were filmed in Rio Dell, in Humboldt County, California, where the show is set.[54]
Casting
In February 2022, it was announced that Thieriot would star in the series.[55] In March 2022, Burke and Alejandro were given lead roles in the pilot.[56] A few days later, it was announced that Farr, Calloway, Arcila, and Latimer would be appearing as series regulars.[57] In September 2022, it was announced that Trucco would be joining the show in a recurring role.[58] In January 2023, it was reported that Zach Tinker joined the cast in an undisclosed capacity.[8] In March 2023, it was announced that Rebecca Mader and Kanoa Goo were cast in recurring roles.[1] In December 2023, it was reported that Rafael de la Fuente joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season.[10] On December 15, 2023, it was reported that casting was currently underway for a new character in Season 2 (a female sheriff), who may possibly be the main character in a spinoff (or become a series regular).[59] On December 19, 2023, it was reported that Tye White and Jason O'Mara would also join the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season.[60]
Fire Country premiered on October 7, 2022, on CBS in the United States.[61] It was also available on Paramount+ via subscription and on Pluto TV for free. The second season premiered on February 16, 2024.[3]
Simulcasting in the United States, the series aired on Global in Canada and was available in a StackTV package from Amazon Prime Video. It also aired on Noovo, as a French-speaking program.
In Italy, it premiered on Rai 2 on January 8, 2023, but it was then removed from Rai 2's schedule on January 22, 2023, after only three episodes due to low ratings. It begin airing on Rai 4 on July 24, 2023.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 50% approval rating with an average rating of 4.3/10, based on 8 critic reviews.[64]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[65]
Katie Dowd, writing for SFGATE, accused Fire Country of being exploitative and "inaccurate."[66]
Cal Fire response
Prior to the show's release, Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler released a statement denying any involvement in the creation of the show, saying that "this television series is a misrepresentation of the professional all-hazards fire department and resource protection agency that Cal Fire is." Particular objection was made to a scene in the series' trailer involving an inmate fighting a member of Cal Fire.[67]
Tim Edwards, the president of Cal Fire's union, Local 2881, added that "we have spoken with our legal team, and we cannot prevent the series from airing or using the Cal Fire name." An attempt was made to legally require a disclaimer before and after each episode that disavowed involvement from Cal Fire, but was unsuccessful.[67] After seeing the full pilot, Edwards continued to disapprove of the show and added criticism over inmates not being punished for multiple rule violations that would normally result in an immediate return to prison.[68]
Showrunner Tia Napolitano replied to the criticisms saying "I had almost no response. I know we are making an entertainment show. It's not a documentary. We do our absolute best." Jeff Snider, a retired firefighter and one of the show's consultants, noted the New York City Police Department did not comment on the realism of Law & Order and said Cal Fire's unusual response was because "just in general with firefighters, we are very good at finding the flaw with each other."[68]
On January 23, 2024, it was reported that a proposed spin-off of Fire Country would be introduced via back-door pilot episode in season 2 with Morena Baccarin attached to lead.[77] The episode titled "Alert the Sheriff" introduced Baccarin's character Mickey Fox. On May 2, 2024, it went straight-to-series order, with CBS Studios joining the production of the series and later titled Sheriff Country.[78]