It looks like Fire Country has the potential to spread, as CBS Chief George Cheeks hinted at a possibly bright future for the standout hit on the 2023 TV schedule. After a wildly successful first installment, Fire Country's second season was confirmed earlier this year. Now, with Season 1 wrapped, and another on the way, it sounds like the show could also spin off into new series about the world of firefighters.
As George Cheeks spoke at the Banff World Media Festival, he teased the potential for spinoffs based around Fire Country, much like how CBS has expanded the NCIS world and NBC has created One Chicago. Deadline published the boss's quotes as he said:
We are focused on mass appeal franchises. We started with expanding universes, reimagining, but also creating new franchises. And again, this season’s number one show was Fire Country, which completely lends itself to building out a whole new universe. So it is really important for us to double down on a franchise focus.
He continued to speak about what potential spinoffs might look like in the future, noting that this won't be immediate. Plus with the writer's strike, it's highly likely that Season 2 will be delayed. Speaking to the potential for more Fire Country shows, Cheeks explained:
It became very clear that not only was the show special, it really felt like this could be a great example of us building together a franchise from scratch. And so I’m like, ‘you guys, congratulations, you got your back nine. Now let’s start talking about ideas for new extensions.’ They’ve already come up with some great ones … We’re not necessarily looking at next year. We’re looking when they’re ready. That’s the beauty of the gestation process. We know that we’re doubling down on this one, so let’s get it right. And whether that means three years down the road or whether that means a Paramount Plus original or a CBS original, we’ll see where it lands.
Overall, it makes a lot of sense that CBS would want to turn Max Thieriot’s drama into a franchise. Fire Country hit major milestones this year, and it brought in millions of viewers on both its home network and Paramount+, where new episodes can be found the day after their air live. So, a spinoff on either the streaming service (kind of like how Taylor Sheridan has expanded the Yellowstone universe) or CBS would likely be a great success, considering it’s already a beloved property.
Along with the love already in place for Fire Country, the history of network TV and spinoffs of procedurals also points to the idea that creating shows based on Thieriot’s would likely work well. CBS has seen great success by expanding a series with shows like NCIS. Plus, other networks like ABC, NBC and Fox have respectively found luck by franchising shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order and 9-1-1, among others.
Now the question is: What would a Fire Country spinoff look like? Would it be about the police department or hospital in Edgewater? Or would it create shows based on other fire camps around California? I’d think either would be successful, and in the past, we’ve seen spinoffs of both types. For example, Grey’s spinoff Station 19 is about a fire station in Seattle that works with the hospital, whereas the NCIS franchise focuses on various agencies around the United States, like Los Angeles and New Orleans. Personally, I'd like to see other parts of Edgewater, but as the procedural shows of the past have proven, both models work incredibly well.
As this news develops, and CBS potentially begins to develop Fire Country spinoffs, we'll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, you can stream all of Season 1, including the finale with Bode’s big plot twist with a Paramount+ subscription.
