Just two episodes into its freshman run, CBS’s new firefighter series Fire Country has already received a full order for season 2.
Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said, “Fire Country has so many appealing entry points for the audience. It combines high-stakes action with small-town charm, mystery, and romance, and a family franchise at its core.”
Despite knowing that, she was still amazed at the response. She noted how remarkable it was to see a new series resonate with audiences both on broadcast and in streaming right out of the gate.
According to Variety, the show has been a breakout hit, raking over an average of 10 million viewers per episode in Live+35 day multiplatform viewing. It is also the most-watched new series of the 2022-2023 season.
And here’s everything we need to know about the red-hot, blazing hit’s return on the screen.
But First, Let’s Take a Recap
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So, before its second season arrives, let’s quickly look at the plot and season 1’s highlights.
Fire Country focuses on CalFire (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) and the prisoner volunteer firefighter program. Its story centers around armed robbery convict Bode Donovan, played by co-creator Max Thieriot, who joins the program not only to seek a shorter sentence but also to redeem himself from the life of crime he had led.
Bode didn’t expect his road to redemption to mean facing the life and the hometown (Edgewater) he had long run away from.
So, throughout 22 episodes, he confronts his father and CalFire battalion chief Vince, and the deep rift between them, heartened his mother and division chief Sharon’s spirits. He also reconciles with his best friend Jake, finds a mentor in camp chief Manny, and gets himself entangled in love with Manny’s daughter Gabriela.
However, everything Bode had built for himself fell apart at the season finale.
Bode made the selfless choice to confess to relapsing and dealing drugs at the camp to save his best friend Freddy and give him a chance to get released and be with his sweetheart and their newborn child. That devastated his parents and mentor Manny, but Gabriela suspected there was more to this confession.
What will happen in season 2?
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Season 1 ended with a full-circle moment from the pilot, and viewers were met with a mudslide of twists. While there’s no trailer for season 2 yet, we can expect it to be as dramatic – probably even more – as the first.
There’s Bode behind bars after he decided to save Fred and confess to the drug dealing game back at Three Rock Camp, which he had nothing to do about. Seeing how Gabriela had already caught on that something was amiss with Bode’s confession, there is a possibility that Bode will be out sooner than we expect.
Hopefully, Sleeper’s (Grant Harvey) role in the prison camp drug trade and ‘dirty tests’ would be exposed in the process. Aside from that, we might also finally get the answer if Bode really is the father of Cara’s secret daughter.
If you remember, in Season 1, Cara was introduced as Bode’s high school sweetheart. When they were 19, she slipped off to secretly have her baby, which her mother passed off as her sister. Viewers are convinced that there’s a big chance that her daughter may be Bode’s based on two things.
First, the timing aligns with her relationship with Bode. Second, Cara had a conspicuous reaction when Jake told her that Bode would be crashing with him after making parole.
That revelation could complicate Bode’s relationships with Gabriela and Jake if it happens. That is because Gabriela and Bode have made things official before his parole hearing (and eventual prison return). On the other hand, Jake and Cara are also currently dating.
While Bode and Cara happened way back in high school, it’s uncertain whether Gabriela would still stay with Bode if he is the father or if she would ask for space. As for Jake, this might affect his relationship with Cara (for keeping everything a secret) and make it awkward between him and Bode.
Is Fire Country Authentic?
The series was inspired by the real-life firefighting program known as CalFire, but the plot is completely original. Thieiriot says he drew the idea of Fire Country from his own experiences growing up in Sonoma County in Northern California.
Unfortunately, the show was met with some backlash. In a statement by CalFire Chief Joe Tyler last May 2022, he expressed frustration with how the department and the program were misrepresented.
He said, “This television series is a misrepresentation of the professional all-hazards fire department and resource protection agency that Cal Fire is. The dramatization of inmate firefighters fighting members of Cal Fire is a poor reflection of the value of our Camps Program and the incredible work and leadership of our Fire Captains who supervise our hand crews.”
Cast, Trailer, and Release Date: What We Know So Far
While the series has been renewed for a second season early on its debut run, the details are still not all out.
What we do know is that the main cast, namely Max Thieriot (Bode Leone/Donovan), Billy Burke (Vince Leone), Kevin Alejandro (Manny Perez), Diane Farr (Sharon Leone), Stephanie Arcila (Gabriela Perez), Jordan Calloway (Jake Crawford), and Jules Latimer (Eve Edwards) will all make their return in Edgewater. Kanoa Goo (Kyle) looks like he’s also set to return and ready to snatch Gabriela from Bode.
Then last March 2023, Deadline reported that CBS cast Rebecca Mader of Once Upon a Time for Faye, the head of a private concierge firefighting company and Manny’s love interest. She will be a key recurring role in the series.
Zach Tinker, who was added to the show as Collin O’Reilly, the ‘humble, charming, and talented probie firefighter’ and the son of a legendary firefighting hero, seems to have also been locked in on the show. Jade Pettyjohn (Riley Leone), W. Tré Davis (Freddy Mills), and Michael Trucco (Luke Leone) will also be likely to continue popping in.
CBS has not announced a premiere date yet for Fire Country Season 2, but they announced that new episodes would be available in fall 2023. So, stay tuned!
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