Fire Country is an American action drama television series created by Max Thieriot, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater for CBS, starring Thieriot. It is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television and CBS Studios. 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. In March 2024, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on October 18, 2024. In February 2025, the series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on October 17, 2025. In January 2026, the series was renewed for a fifth season.
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. He ends up getting assigned to his hometown in Northern California, the fictional town of Edgewater, and the nearby Cal Fire station called Three Rock, where he works alongside former friends, other inmates, and veteran firefighters tasked with putting out the wildfires that plague the region.
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In November 2021, CBS announced it was developing a series with Thieriot, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, based on Thieriot's experiences growing up in Northern California fire country. The potential series was then known as Cal Fire. In February 2022, a series pilot was green-lit. 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. Tia Napolitano would serve as the series showrunner. On October 19, 2022, the series received a full season order. On January 6, 2023, CBS renewed the series for a second season. On March 12, 2024, the series was renewed for a third season. On February 20, 2025, CBS renewed the series for a fourth season. On January 22, 2026, CBS renewed the series for a fifth season.
Filming for the first season began on July 21, 2022, in Vancouver, Canada, and concluded on April 5, 2023. The series uses the nearby village of Fort Langley to portray the fictional Northern California town of Edgewater. In addition, establishing shots for the town of Edgewater were filmed in Rio Dell, in Humboldt County, California, where the show is set. Filming for the second season began on December 11, 2023, and concluded on April 4, 2024. Filming for the third season began on July 11, 2024, and concluded on February 26, 2025. Filming for the fourth season began on July 14, 2025, and is scheduled to conclude on March 5, 2026.
In February 2022, it was announced that Thieriot would star in the series. In March 2022, Burke and Alejandro were given lead roles in the pilot. A few days later, it was announced that Farr, Calloway, Arcila, and Latimer would be appearing as series regulars. In September 2022, it was announced that Trucco would be joining the show in a recurring role. In January 2023, it was reported that Zach Tinker joined the cast in an undisclosed capacity. In March 2023, it was announced that Rebecca Mader and Kanoa Goo were cast in recurring roles. In December 2023, it was reported that Rafael de la Fuente joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season. On December 15, 2023, it was reported that casting was currently underway for a new character in Season 2, who would possibly become the main character in a spinoff. 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. On August 1, 2024, Leven Rambin was cast in recurring role for the third season.
Fire Country premiered on October 7, 2022, on CBS in the United States. It is also available on Paramount+ via subscription and on Pluto TV for free. The second season premiered on February 16, 2024. The third season premiered on October 18, 2024. The fourth season premiered on October 17, 2025. The first season is also available on Netflix.
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-dub.
Outside the United States, the series was distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. The series premiered on December 20, 2022, on Fox in Portugal.
In Italy, it premiered on Rai 2 on January 8, 2023, but it was then pulled from Rai 2's schedule on January 22, 2023, after three episodes due to low ratings. It begin airing on Rai 4 on July 24, 2023.
In Australia on January 11, 2023, on Network 10.
In New Zealand, the series is available on TVNZ 2. Every episode is still available on TVNZ+.
In Croatia, it premiered on February 28, 2023, on Star Channel (Formerly FOX).
In Serbia, it premiered on February 28, 2023, on Star Channel (Formerly FOX).
In Bulgaria, it debuted on March 7, 2023, on Fox and credited to the Bulgarian studio Pro Films.
In Norway, it was available on TV 2 Play. It was later added to Strim.
In Sweden, it was added to TV4 Play on August 28, 2023.
In Poland, it premiered on Viaplay.
In Germany, it premiered on September 11, 2023, on Universal TV.
In Latin America and Brazil, the series premiered exclusively on the Pay-TV Sony Channel on September 18, 2023.
In the United Kingdom, the show premiered on Sky Witness on January 24, 2024.
In Brazil, the show is available on Netflix.
In Southeast Asia, it premiered on HITS NOW.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 44% approval rating with an average rating of 4.3/10 for the first season, based on nine critic reviews. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 56 out of 100 based on seven critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Katie Dowd, writing for SFGate, accused Fire Country of being exploitative and "inaccurate."
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.
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. 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.
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."
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. The episode titled "Alert the Sheriff" introduced Baccarin's character, Edgewater County Sheriff's Sergeant Mickey Fox. On May 2, 2024, it received a straight-to-series order, with CBS Studios joining the production of what would later be titled Sheriff Country, with filming set to take place in Toronto, rather than in Vancouver like the original, so Baccarin could be closer to her family in New York.
A fall 2025 premiere was confirmed in March 2025 with a promo airing during broadcasts of March Madness. The castings of Matt Lauria, Christopher Gorham, Michele Weaver were announced in April 2025, joining the previously announced W. Earl Brown. Production on the spin-off began in May 2025 in the Toronto area with twelve scripts already written, and in July 2025 the premiere date was set for October 17, with the show airing regularly before the original on Fridays after the premiere. A first teaser trailer was released in August 2025.
A second spin-off featuring Jared Padalecki has also been under consideration since 2024.