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CBS’s high-stakes drama Fire Country is blazing into season 2

The show, which premiered in the fall of 2022, focuses on a crew of prison inmates who’ve signed on to fight wildfires with California’s Conservation Camp Program in the hopes of getting a reduced sentence. Among them is Bode Donovan (Max Thierot) who is serving time for armed robbery. When Cal Fire sends him back to his hometown of Edgewater, he’s forced to confront the ghosts of his past. He also reconnects with his parents, who are both firefighters.  

CBS renewed ‘Fire Country’ for season 2

With its combination of intense action and human drama, the freshman drama was a hit right out of the gate. Fire Country‘s first few episodes averaged an impressive 8 million viewers. That made it the top new broadcast series of the season. So, it was not a huge surprise when CBS gave the show an early renewal in January 2023. 

“It’s pretty remarkable to see a new series resonate like this with both broadcast and streaming audiences right out of the gate,” Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement at the time. “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. We’re blessed to have an incredible team in front of and behind the camera led by amazing producers and writers and an exceptionally talented cast.”

‘Fire Country’ Season 2 does not yet have a premiere date 

Billy Burke and Diane Far in uniform and holding hands in the 'Fire Country' Season 1 finale episode
(L-R): Billy Burke as Chief Vince Leone and Diane Farr as Sharon Leone in ‘Fire Country’ | Sergei Bachlakov/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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CBS has promised fans that they’ll see more of Bode, his parents Sharon (Diane Farr) and Vince (Billy Burke), and the rest of Fire Country’s cast of colorful characters. But viewers will have to wait a while for those new episodes to arrive. 

Originally, Fire Country Season 2 was expected to air in the fall of 2023. But the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have pushed back the show’s return date. 

“We were supposed to be back at work in two weeks. It would be written and done now,” Farr told The Messenger in mid-June 2022, before the SAG-AFTRA strike began. 

The strikes could also affect the number of episodes in Fire Country Season 2, Farr warned. 

“We were supposed to go back and do 22 [episodes], which would take us through the whole season, but when we go back later, they won’t air new stuff in the summer because everybody’s vacationing,” she explained. “We may only get 18 episodes of Fire Country or 12.”

What can fans expect in future ‘Fire Country’ episodes?

CBS hasn’t released a Fire Country Season 2 synopsis or teaser, so what to expect when the show does return is anyone’s guess. But we can make a few educated predictions based on where things stood at the end of season 1, which concluded with Bode back behind bars after he said he relapsed and claimed to be running drugs at the fire camp. In reality, he was taking the fall so that his friend Freddy (W. Tre Davis) could go free. But his devastated parents were convinced he’d fallen back into old, bad habits. 

In season 2, we expect to see Bode dealing with the fallout from his decision at his parole hearing. There’s also the matter of Bode’s high school ex Cara (Sabina Gadecki). In the finale, she revealed that Bode might be the father of her child. Sharon’s ongoing health struggles will likely also continue to be a storyline as she has to decide whether to accept a kidney from her estranged brother-in-law. 

All episodes of Fire Country Season 1 are now streaming on Paramount+. 

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