‘Fire Country’ Co-Creator on Plans to ‘Build Out a Franchise’ and Mixed Reactions From Cal Fire Firefighters

“Fire Country” is ready to change everything with its sophomore season.

For Season 2, which launched with its explosive premiere on Feb. 16,

executive producer and co-creator Tony Phelan says that they wanted

to “shake up everything” on the CBS procedural, which began with a six-month time jump from the last season’s finale. Every character is in a new place.

“Some of them have changed jobs. Some of them have changed relationships. It was a big reset,” he says.Many viewers may have been shocked (and sad!) to see that not only did Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) start dating someone two months after Bode (Max Thieroit) left — she originally visited him in prison and he refused to see her, plus her letters went without a response — but that she is engaged to her new boyfriend, Diego (Rafael de la Fuente), by the end of the first episode.

“There was always so much turmoil around her relationship with Bode. In a way, she was so hurt by the fact that she continually tried to reach out to him and he kept shutting her down with his silence that she said you know what, screw it. I’m gonna walk away from this,” says Phelan. “In doing so, she meets Diego, who it seems like is a perfect fit for her. He’s very stable, reliable, handsome and good at his job and he sees her for who she is.”

At the end of the premiere, Bode returns to Edgewater after getting out of prison, which means he’s back to firefighting with his ex and her new fiancé. Things will be “fraught,” as one could imagine, as they’re all forced to co-exist in the same small town.

Going forward, that town will become more of a character as “Fire Country” expands. The network is eyeing a police-focused spinoff and, later this season, Morena Baccarin will guest star as Sheriff Mickey in an episode seemingly serving as a backdoor pilot for the potential spinoff.

“She shows up about midway through the season and she’s fantastic,” Phelan says. “Our intention was always to show more of Edgewater, more of this town and more of the people in this town and how they relate to our characters. It feels like we really are expanding our scope a little bit.”

While the show wasn’t originally planned as a launching point for a franchise, the audience engagement is there — and procedural franchises do well, as shown in everything from “Law & Order” and “One Chicago” to “NCIS” and “CSI.”

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