[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Fire Country.]

The Big Picture

‘Fire Country’ Season 2 pushes boundaries with earthquakes, new characters, and emotional challenges.
Star and series co-creator Max Thieriot aims to enhance the series creatively by exploring new storylines and character development.
Bode’s journey includes inner struggles, potential fatherhood, and hopes to rekindle his connection with Gabriela.

Now in its second season, the CBS series Fire Country continues to follow Bode Leone (Max Thieriot), a convict seeking redemption with his family and loved ones while working to reduce his prison sentence and proving that he’s worthy of his family’s firefighting legacy. At Northern California’s Three Rock, where inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish wildfires, Bode must face his own demons, if he’s ever going to have a future he can be proud of. And while he’s on that journey, there’s no shortage of earthquakes, cave rescues, toxic spills, car crashes, huge blazes, and possible unexpected fatherhood to keep him busy and keep his mind off the fact the woman he loves is engaged to someone else.

During this interview with Collider, Thieriot, who’s also a co-creator, executive producer and director, talked about always wanting to make the series better, constantly shaking things up, the challenges of portraying an earthquake, that there’s always hope for Bode and Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila), the possibility of Bode having a daughter, when he started thinking about possible spin-offs, introducing Morena Baccarin’s character, and when it’s been like to direct episodes of the series.

Fire Country A young convict joins a firefighting program looking for redemption and a shortened prison sentence. He and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region.Release Date October 7, 2022 Creator Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Max Thieriot Main Genre Drama Seasons 2

‘Fire Country’s Creative Team Is Always Looking to Think Outside the Box
Image via CBS

Collider: Since the debut of Fire Country, you’ve branched out into a courtroom drama at the end of last season to a prison drama at the start of Season 2, and also an earthquake as the cherry on top of it all. Did you want to just go big for the return? Did you always want to expand what this show could be? Were there always conversations about what more you could do with it?

MAX THIERIOT: Yeah, and we still always have those conversations. Myself, and the writers, and (co-creators) Tony [Phelan] and Joan [Rater], and all of our producers are always contemplating character and storylines and things. Everybody will chime in with individual things that they would love to see, and then we figure out things that we can pull off. I’m always dreaming of all sorts of different stuff that I wanna do, and sometimes they’re like, “That’s just not realistic.” But I’m always thinking about ways that we can either do better or come up with clever ways to do things that are different, and think outside the box, and show things that haven’t really been seen on television, and just overall push the envelope.

That’s the big thing, we certainly wanted to start with a big, crazy episode. We want them all to be big in some form, not necessarily with the incident, but maybe with character or whatever. It’s part of the show to have something take place that is impactful and leaves you thinking about that thing in each episode, whether it’s a character thing, or drama, or suspense of something, and we’re left off with it, or it’s something really crazy, massive like a giant earthquake. And being that we have less episodes to do this [season], it gave us an opportunity to really go through and say, “Okay, let’s really talk about each of these and figure out how to map out this year, both character wise and incidentally, and come up with the best version of it, in 10 episodes or whatever. It’s exciting. That part of the process is always fun.

What was it like to shoot prison scenes in the first episode back? Does it very much get you in that headspace when you’re shooting in that kind of location?

THIERIOT: Oh, for sure. It was cool because the last scene that we filmed last season was when I was going into prison, so it’s like I never got out of that space. When I went home, I was okay. Although sometimes having an eight- and a six- year-old is kind of like living in prison because you get jumped on out of nowhere or punched suddenly. But it was cool, character wise, to leave him there physically on the last day of filming [Season 1], and then come back and start with him there on the first day of filming [Season 2]. It’s something that we’ve talked about in the show, and we’ve seen little glimpses of Bode being in prison, having just come from prison to Three Rock, and then back to prison. It provided an opportunity to show the audience that and to give them a glimpse of what prison Bode actually looked like.

Related Every ‘Fire Country’ Season 1 Episode, Ranked by IMDb “What if I don’t parole? What if I do, and I fall apart without fire camp?”

You do have a different dynamic and there’s a different sense of energy with his cellmate. What was that like to bring into the show and to find what you wanted that energy to be?

THIERIOT: It’s important that each of these characters stand on their own, and that they all have their own personal story and their own thing about them that makes them unique. With Cole, we wanted to do something different this [season]. Not only is bringing in a new personality into the show fun for the audience to see, but it pulls a different side out of Bode as well. You get to see a different side of a lot of these other characters that we already know. That was the big idea behind it. We have some great stuff that we’ll reveal and come to learn about his backstory. They also have some very similar qualities in a certain way, but Cole is somebody who’s been locked up longer than Bode, so he has a different point of view on some things and can share a lot of insight and help him in his own personal journey. He’s already been through that, so he knows what it looks like and maybe doesn’t necessarily tell him what to do, but more what not to do or what he wishes he could change. We have some really fun story stuff that we play with, with the two of those characters.

When It Comes to Big Moments In ‘Fire Country,’ Max Thieriot Wants to Keep Them as Grounded as Possible
Image via CBS

You’ve shot a wide variety of different types of fire-related scenes. You’ve shot scenes that involve car crashes. What’s it like to shoot an earthquake? How much of that do you do practically? How do you figure out how to get that to translate onto the screen?

THIERIOT: An earthquake is tricky because it’s one of those things where there’s the really massively heightened version of San Andreas, and then there’s the realistic, authentic version that most people in California have experienced, at least on some level and at some point in time, even if that’s just, “Oh, the picture frames are shaking.” So, the challenge is really grounding it, but also keeping it impactful and having it be something that’s also threatening. The big fissures and cracks and those things all become a visual effect. We can cheat the world with a lot of camera movements, and you can put bags under sets and stages and get them to shake. And we’ve got a super talented special effects team as well, that are on the set and can create all these different things, like rattling and falling. Those are the key pieces that really help sell it. It’s not just, “Oh, the floor is shaking,” but all these things are rocking and things are falling. I like when we can keep things suspenseful, dramatic, and intense, but also still try to keep them as grounded in reality as possible. The truth is, that ends up being that much scarier because you look at it like, “This really could be happening.”

You also had a hand-to-hand combat fight between Bode and Sleeper in the premiere episode. What was it like to shoot that? Do you get much rehearsal and prep time for something like that? Do you enjoy that kind of thing versus the effects stuff?

THIERIOT: I really do enjoy that kind of stuff. Coming off of SEAL Team, I’ve done so much of it myself now that it’s fun because I’m now at a point where I’m very comfortable doing it. I don’t go in and overthink these things and think about each punch that I have to sell. Now it’s more of a choreographed, not a dance, but in a way just figuring out what that flow is. I can do all these things at one time, as opposed to when you start learning how to do it, and they’re like, “Okay, we’re gonna do one punch here.” It’s fun. We don’t have to talk about, “Hey, you’re gonna do a punch here.” If it’s just a scene where I’m doing one punch, I have a good shorthand with our stunt crew, and they know to be like, “All right, there’s a punch Max.” And I know how I have to play it for the camera and where I need to throw the punch.

It makes it a faster process, but there’s also not as much time that we have to spend really thinking through it. They come up with something, we rehearse it, and we see if we like it. With that one, specifically, Grant [Harvey] had already been rehearsing it. I was working on something else, so I came over to the stage, he and I joked around for a little bit, and he walked me through each piece. You do them slowly, and then you work up to speed. There’s just a trust you have in the person that you’re doing it with. And I always prefer when I can do it with the actor and not a stunt double. That way, we can really play the entire thing through in one take and everybody can be turning everywhere because you’re not trying to hide anything. And then, you can also just keep cranking it out a few times. That’s how we did it.

‘Fire Country’s Max Thieriot Says Fans of Bode and Gabriela Shouldn’t Lose Hope in Season 2
Image via CBS

When it comes to Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila), is Bode just going to sit back and torture himself and watch her move on with someone else? What can you tease about that dynamic? Is there any hope you can give fans who are rooting for them to figure things out?

THIERIOT: With the two of them, there’s always hope. What I’ll say is, I think it would be a disservice to that story if, all of a sudden, she broke off her engagement in the next episode. It’s certainly a storyline that will exist for a while. In a weird way, what people want to see is that push and pull. You know that deep down both of these people had a connection with each other that was something that only exists in fairy tales. They had that magnetic connection that is undeniable. Bode says in that scene with Cole, “We couldn’t stay away from each other.” So, I think it’s really just more about them fighting with what they want versus what the reality of their situation and their lives are. He’s really trying. We have some pretty incredible stuff for all the characters that builds throughout the season. By episodes 8, 9 and 10, it really all starts coming to a head for everybody. We get to end in a really exciting place for these characters. I’m pumped about it.

The possibility of Bode having a daughter now also could definitely be a big deal. How will that play into things in Season 2?

THIERIOT: It will definitely play into things. With Gabriela, Bode found this person that changed him a bit, and he found a way to really love again and open his heart. But the biggest thing is that Bode has been unable to change the person that he had to become by being incarcerated. He put up a lot of inner walls just to protect himself in there, and he hasn’t been able to take them down. He needs to get broken down there, and this is possibly the person that can actually help do that because they can touch a different place and reach a different place inside of him that nobody else can.

‘Fire Country’ Producers Have Thought About Possible Spin-offs From the Beginning

We’ve been hearing about a possible spin-off focused on the Sheriff’s Department and with Morena Baccarin as a new character. Had you always seen this as part of a larger universe? When did the idea of spin-offs start to come up?

THIERIOT: I was talking about spin-offs in my own head when I was coming up with Fire Country. That’s just my brain. I’m always like, “And then, this can happen. And then, we could have this thing.” I’m always a little ahead of myself in that way, putting the cart before the horse. We all love this world and, for a long time, the producers have always been talking about storylines and characters, and figuring out ways to explore the world and explore the show, and tell a lot of stories in the Fire Country world. I don’t know if there were any specifics, but I’m always trying to figure out ways to do things that are cool and different and how we can keep doing better. I’m super excited to have Morena come on the show and I’m really excited for her character. I think everybody will be really excited to meet her. I honestly couldn’t be more pumped. We’re always working on all sorts of things, and we’ll share those things when we can. We can always do more, and we can always do better. We all just love this world, so we wanna see all the parts of it.

It’s when you don’t care that there’s a problem.

THIERIOT: Yeah, for sure. I wouldn’t be waking up at 4am and going to the gym, and then getting home at whatever time. It’s fun. The whole creative process is fun. Tony and Joan and I spend a lot of time talking about character and stories and just the Fire Country universe, all the time. I’m super lucky to have all these partners through the creative writing stuff and figuring out what we can do.

When it Comes to Making a TV Series Like ‘Fire Country,’ Every Second Is Valuable
Image via CBS

Was there anything that you learned about the show or did you get a different appreciation for any aspect of the show from directing an episode?

THIERIOT: I don’t know about specifically on this show, just because I’ve been so involved with every piece throughout the whole time we’ve been doing it. This is such a silly little thing, but when I directed for the first time, I realized how important and how valuable time is in television. It made me look at things differently, as an actor, when it comes to how valuable every second is. When everybody is fully prepared and the questions are asked ahead of time, and there is no, “Hold on, let me answer this text message real quick,” every minute is valuable to the show, and you don’t wanna waste all the people’s time who are there working their butts off. You manage time much differently when you’re directing.

Does it get any easier the second time, or are there just other challenges?

THIERIOT: There are always different challenges. You always face different challenges, which is also fun. You’re always problem solving and figuring out ways to overcome different challenges that you’ll face. That’s just the way it is, and it could be anything. It could be challenges with lines or actors or weather or budget. It’s a million different things that it can be. Part of the fun is figuring out, “Okay, this is how much time, this is how much money, these are the locations.” It’s your job, as the director, to take what you have and what you’ve been given by everything, including mother nature, and then make the best thing you possibly can. For me, I love that challenge because it’s like, “All right, how do I win? How do I beat this thing? How do I make this the best thing it can possibly be?” That’s all part of it.

Related Every ‘Fire Country’ Season 1 Episode, Ranked by IMDb “What if I don’t parole? What if I do, and I fall apart without fire camp?”

You have to have a bit of a sense of humor about directing a show about literal fire when you’re putting out endless amounts of metaphorical fires while you’re trying to direct an episode.

THIERIOT: For sure. You’ve gotta have a sense of humor in all of it. One of the most important things is to smile around your crew, show up happy every day, and lead by example. You have to show everyone who’s there that looks to you as being the leader in those moments that you’ll lie in the mud and stand in the fire with them, quite literally sometimes. If they know that they have 100% of everything that you have in you, they’re gonna give you everything that they have. That’s a valuable lesson that I learned, but that also just applies to life though. That translates in most things.

I really appreciate the attention to detail and the care you take with everything involving this series.

THIERIOT: It’s all a process. Everybody there is still learning, but our goal, at the end of the day, is to make the show better, every day, tell real stories, shed positive light, and just help people. It’s not just to show people helping people on television, but to actually find ways for that to translate to people who have done these jobs, with the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Fire Country airs on Friday nights on CBS and is available to stream at Paramount+. Check out a Season 2 preview:

Watch on Paramount+