Guide to Every ‘Fire Country’ Newcomer Ahead of Season 3: Which Actors Have Joined and Who They Play
As Fire Country’s success continues to grow on CBS, so does the cast.
The drama series, which premiered in 2022, follows inmate Bode (Max Thieriot) as he gets a chance to shorten his prison sentence by volunteering for the California Conservation Camp Program. Bode gets assigned to his hometown, where he reconnects with his family and former friends and continues to make attempts to redeem himself.
Fire Country focused largely on the inmates at Three Rock in addition to Bode’s loved ones who were still living in his hometown. However, season 2 threw viewers for a loop when Bode was released from prison early, which paved the way for more opportunities to introduce new characters as he returned to his life.
“We felt like, by the end of season 2, we just had been craving it and craving it and craving it for so long,” showrunner Tia Napolitano exclusively told Us Weekly in March. “And our show is all about redemption, and we get Bode to this place where he’s really earning it and changing and really growing. We wanted that wish fulfillment and that satisfaction of, ‘Finally, this man gets to no longer be incarcerated.'”
What to Know About ‘Fire Country’ Season 3: From Bode and Gabriela’s Future to Possible Crossovers
Napolitano was excited to no longer have Bode separate from most of the other characters, adding, “It’s freeing to have [Bode] out. The way it is now, we lived in two worlds and Bode — who is the lead of the show — lived almost alone.”
She concluded: “And we would have these great scenes of our characters having fun. Gabriela, Eve and Jake joking around or making food or enjoying a night at Smokey’s and Bode couldn’t be a part of it. I think every set he’s on that we haven’t seen him on yet as a free person is just fan candy and really fun. We just want to make sure that we appreciate how special it is every time those things happen for him.”
During the season 2 premiere, Bode found out he could be the father of ex-girlfriend Cara’s daughter Genevieve — whom he originally thought was Cara’s sister since she kept her pregnancy a secret. Bode ultimately was ruled out as the biological father, but now his former friend Rick (Aalderks) could be a contender after being introduced in the season 2 finale.
The season 2 finale also showed Manny (Kevin Alejandro) getting arrested, which could lead to him becoming an inmate at the camp.
“I think there’s a little more rock bottom that could come. But definitely, for this season, it is definitely a rock bottom in this situation. But our writers are really good at creating [and] recreating rock bottoms,” Alejandro exclusively told Us in March. “I don’t really know what season 3 looks like. But I just have a feeling there’s gonna be more of, ‘Oh, Manny. What are you doing?'”
Us confirmed in August that Padalecki has a three-episode arc as Camden, who is described as a “SoCal firefighter and maverick with a surfer swagger who is a force to be reckoned with and immediately recognizes Bode’s raw talent.”
Camden’s introduction on Fire Country could pave the way for him to land his own spinoff. For now, Napolitano hinted that Camden would be sharing multiple scenes with Bode.
“Everyone in Bode’s life before Camden hits the scene is sort of trying to tame a tiger when it comes to Bode to make sure he works the program so he can get out,” she told TV Insider that same month about the third season’s story lines. “Camden is more Bode than anyone else on our show. I think they’re twin flames and similar and Camden’s able to encourage, draw out maybe the dangerous side of Bode, but he sees the talent and leans into it. He doesn’t try to put lightning back into the bottle.”
She continued: “It’s an interesting space where people have their opinions about how Bode should go about firefighting, but again, he’s not incarcerated anymore, so how much say does anybody really have over a grown man pursuing what he wants to pursue? So we’ll have to see.”
