‘Fire Country’ Shocker! Season 4 Trailer Reveals [Spoiler]’s Death — Bosses Explain
Fire Country reveals the aftermath of the fiery cliffhanger from last May in the Season 4 trailer, released on Tuesday, September 23, and it shows that one of the Leones trapped in a burning building — Vince (Billy Burke), Sharon (Diane Farr), and Walter (Jeff Fahey) — dies as Bode (Max Thieriot) is held back outside.
In fact, as we see in the trailer, which you can watch above ahead of the October 17 premiere (at a special time of 8/7c), Jake (Jordan Calloway) is the one to make sure his best friend can’t run back inside. “I will never forgive this,” Bode warns him.
After that, the Leone family and the town of Edgewater must begin to grieve. “I’m going to spend the rest of my career protecting my father’s town, my father’s station, and my father’s mission,” Bode says in his eulogy. But that’s easier said than done with the big question of who will be battalion chief with Vince gone — and Jake seemingly having his eyes on it. “It’s my birthright!” Bode argues.
The video also sees Sharon suspend 42 from active duty and shows Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila, exiting in the premiere) telling Bode she still loves him.
Below, co-creators Tony Phelan and Joan Rater explain why they’ve killed off Vince and revealed it in the trailer ahead of the premiere, preview everyone’s grief, tease Shawn Hatosy‘s character, reveal a Sheriff Country crossover, and more.
Why kill off Vince?
Tony Phelan: We felt like coming into Season 4, we have a show about wildland firefighters and we have the same cast that we had from the beginning. And to be truthful to the work that these people do, which is always our desire, we felt like it was time for the show and the characters to have a loss. And last season was about legacy. Vince dealing with the legacy of his father and using that as a lens to look at what his relationship with Bode was. And as we were talking about the end of the season, we felt like the thing that was really going to shake up the show and shake up our characters in the best way possible and force them to really reassess where they were and what they were doing was this kind of loss. And so at the same time, we want to be very respectful of the character of Vince, of how important he is to the show, and how important Billy was as a presence on the show. So, the loss of Vince is going to echo through the entire season, and we are going to see our younger firefighters really have to begin to grapple with growing up and what is the next step for them.
Sergei Bachlakov / CBS
Joan Rater: The reveal in the trailer was we care about our fans, and to play Vince’s death as a gimmick or a [gasp moment] didn’t feel right. It felt awful actually. So it’s like, prepare the fans and really get into Vince’s dead early on and how is this going to impact us? And that was the decision.
Phelan: There’s also a desire, too, to the loss of Vince, a lot of our storytelling over the past three seasons has been Sharon and Vince as the kind of parents, and then you’ve got the young people. And losing Vince means that we’ve got to find new combinations and that leads to new stories and it leads to different emotional journeys for our people.
What can you share about the conversation you had with Billy? And is it possible that we’ll see him again because there’s always flashbacks.
Phelan: It was a very difficult conversation to have with Billy because we love the character and love him so much. But I think that if you’re an actor on one of these shows, that’s always a possibility. There’s always, if the storytelling leads there… And I won’t say never. I’ll never say never. Right now, that’s not in the immediate plans, but could certainly happen.
Bode tells Jake that he’ll never forgive him for keeping him from going into the fire. We also see that the two are arguing about battalion chief. The series started with those two at odds after a death in Bode’s family. So, here we are again. What makes it different this time?
Rater: Well, like Tony said earlier, we as the writers really want to explore these guys growing up and dealing with some of their baggage and some of their s**t. We also as writers want to give characters that haven’t had as much story — Jake and Eve [Jules Latimer] — really important centered storytelling. So, what’s different about it is that maybe they’ll handle it differently because they’re going to f**king grow up and deal with their s**t. [Laughs] But it’s not going to be easy. I don’t know. I grew up, and I did it in a very messy way. And so we’re going to explore these guys, what they want, can they come together? Can they be honest with one another? We love the three — Eve, Bode, and Jake, their friendship. We love it and we want them back. We love those moments when they see them being friends. So, we’re going to see what happens.
Phelan: The other big thing that we’ve been dealing with is Bode is out of prison and so much of his life and his energy has just been about achieving that. And now he finds himself out, he finds himself at 42, but he finds himself without his father and that is going to seriously put him on his heels. And so, what he struggles with through that loss and that grief and does he have an ability to reach out to others and ask for help or is he the Bode of old is a big part of this story this season.
Another divide that seems to be stemming from that incident — Sharon tells Walter he should have left her there. The Leone family feels like it’s just being fractured. What can you say about what we’re going to see from the rescue that leads to that moment that we’re seeing between Sharon and Walter?
Phelan: I think that the audience’s expectation was that if anybody was going to die in that fire, it was going to be Walter. And to not have it be Walter, I think, is a huge surprise to everyone, including Sharon. And you say things in grief that you don’t mean, or maybe you do mean them but you wouldn’t normally say them, but she says it. And so it is going to have an impact on them and how that family comes back together and how long does that take and how does the fire station keep running when they have suffered such a huge blow? And that’s where Shawn [Hatosy]’s character comes in. He has been tasked with going to fire stations where they have suffered this kind of loss and deciding, do I dissolve this fire station? Do I reassign everybody or is there something here that can be saved and reassembled?
The trailer does show him watching the fight between Jake and Bode and then also it looks like running drills with 42.
Rater: It’s like, back to basics, bitch. It’s time to get back to basics.
We see Bode and Sharon grieving separately. Is that what we’re going to be seeing also throughout the beginning of the season at least?
Phelan: How they come together, I think, is a really interesting part of the story. She doesn’t want to burden him, he doesn’t want to burden her, and they grieve separately.
Rater: They’re these stoic people, they’re intermeshed, and yet then they isolate, and so we’re going to play with that. But their relationship is really core and key and their love for one another. But to watch them grieve will be interesting.
Yeah, because it doesn’t feel like they’re mad at each other or anything. It’s just the way that they go about it.
Phelan: I think for both of them they’re doing it in their minds to protect the other person so the other person doesn’t have to deal with their grief as well.
Will there be any big crossovers between Fire Country and Sheriff Country?
Phelan: There will be a big crossover event coming up this season. We will see the two worlds. It will be a two-hour single evening event and we’ll see how these two worlds crash into each other and they help each other.
Is there anything you can say about the emergency that brings them together?
Phelan: I would just say it is crazy and it tests everyone involved, but the very future of Edgewater is really put to the test.
Fire Country, Season 4 Premiere, Friday, October 17, 8/7c, CBS
Conversation34 Comments
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Billy Burke was one of the reasons I started watching Fire Country; not sure the remaining cast can carry the show. Grey's lost me when they killed off Patrick Dempsey. Obviously they don't miss me; I am just saying, it makes a huge difference when it is clear "someone" is so jealous of a character that they kill him or her off (they are axing Stephanie Arcila too). Sounds like this may be the last season of Fire Country. Green Olive said it best, the show is more and more depressing.
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Well - another main character killed off. What is going on with these writers? So, another show I will stop watching. I haven't been crazy about the way it's been going anyway - but now, without Vince, I don't think I care to continue watching.
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Agree with you about it
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Lazy writing.
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I’m really not crazy about where the show is going this season. No one is expecting flowers and rainbows, but constant depressing storylines, isn’t the answer either.
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Can you say "kill main character(s) theme"? First 911 killed off their fire captain (Peter Krause), Greys Anatomy has killed off who knows how many at their finale last season and now Fire Country is knocking off a major character.Are you writers playing "monkey see monkey do"? Do not copy off the other shows and do something different. I also will watch a few episodes but will not guarantee I'll be a continuing viewer as I'm not happy with the shifting and loss of characters. As for Billy I wish him much luck in future endeavors and please know I for one will greatly miss him. Good luck and God bless Billy Burke and the rest of the cast and crew.
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Apparently writer's believe their audiences don't like seeing stable mature couple that genuinely love each other.
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Don't see the value for continuing with this show. Another main character killed off. Without Vince don't care to continue watching. Loss intrest in show.
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I am So Sad to see Billy leave, but I know he’s suffering a medical condition, so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it! I just think it’s a shame they’re losing him & Gabriella at the same time! This is going to be too much for Bode! I sure wanted to see them get back together after everything they’ve been through! I’m afraid this might affect your ratings since we all loved these 2 characters! If you needed to get rid of anyone, it should have been one that wasn’t a Star of the show! I’m very disappointed & I will be surprised to see your ratings now!
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I quit watching the show when they did not reunite Bode with Gabriella and now that they killed off Vince I'll never go back. I would rather have Sharon killed off
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They need to get rid of the blonde.
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Well, they lost me as a viewer. I hate when the main characters leave in one way or another!. They should be the backbone of the show. “Castle” survived for so long and I think it’s because you knew the main characters with their little quirky personalities were going to be there every week. It made you feel good to know they were going to be there.
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I won't watch without Gabriela. That was one of the main points of the show, to see bode and her together. Without her? No thanks
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I honestly don't see the value for me in continuing with this show. Killing off half of the only stable ship is insane to me and feeld like failed shock value. If you look at Grey's Anatomy, yes they have done well in killing characters, but they only killed their first main character at the end of Season 5. Until then the biggest death was Denny who was barely there for half a season.
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I love Vince but I watch for Bodiela. I am hoping this is the start of something even with Gabriela leaving but it better not be for long. Time for Audrey to just go away.
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They could have lost Sharon & Walter & kept Vince. Season could have revolved around Vince processing Sharon's loss. I think Walter's death probably wouldn't have hit him as hard.
I find the character Sharon a bit annoying most of the time
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I am joining the many people that will not be watching anymore. I feel the writers and producers could still be following real life situations and not do these shake ups by killing off main characters. The relationship between Billy Burke and Diane Farr was a strong storyline showing a couple loving each other and working through life's real situations. Why can't tv series give us some time to get away from the darkness of our time and just be entertaining.
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Was a good show, probably write it off now, we'll see after a couple episodes but can't see it lasting, big chemistry change
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Not watching without Vince since he’s the reason I watched the show to begin with … Bad move …
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I won’t be watching anymore. There is enough grief and stress in the world already. I don’t need to add to that with such a huge loss of a beloved main character. I know it’s just a show, but that’s how it is.
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Get rid of the blonde!
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Another 'used to be good' show I will not be watching anymore. I didn't care for Gabriella so didn't care either way but love Billy Burke.
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Billy Burke is the main reason I watch, along with Diane Farr. Their chemistry is amazing. I am livid that Vince is being killed off. I have no plans to continue watching Fire Country after this stupid decision.
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Seriously! I was looking forward to the show coming back. Now I’m not gonna waste my time. The only stable adult couple and you have to break them up kill him off. it just goes to show how terrible TV shows have gotten. Disappointing, it’s right up there with 911 killing Bobby off. It won’t be long before you get rid of Sharon. God forbid you have a mature woman on the show. I can’t watch these 20 something year-old wandering around spoiled. By the way, I live in Northern California. We don’t have that many fires. I already had to deal with that every time there was a wildfire. I rolled my eyes. He just ruined a perfectly decent show.
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WHAT‼️‼️⁉️ I don’t like it! I love him on the show! I LOVE Fire Country! I will miss him!!!
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I hope the writers stub their little toes every morning for the rest of their lives and as soon as it stops hurting they stub it a second time. Vince Sharon and Bode are the only reason most people care about this show and now you've ruined that! 9-1-1 lonestar never killed off the important characters.
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I've loved Billy Burke ever since he played sensible and caring Police Chief Swan, Bella's dad, in Twilight. He was also my favorite actor in Fire Country. I'm done watching it. ("If it ain't broke... don't fix it!) So sad!!! 😭
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I loved Vince and Sharon.Too bad they killed him off.Might not watch anymore.These writers are ruining these shows.
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I'm not going to be watching anymore. He was a pillar for the show. You let the house fall down. Wrong decision for sure.
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I'm so mad 😡 This is ridiculous! They have killed off so many main characters. It's ridiculous. They should've killed off Walter. He's dying anyway. I mean why have Vince get well from heart attack just to kill him off? They killed off Cara, took Jen, off to live with a man she didn't know? What the hell are these writers thinking. I'm tired of shows killing off main characters. I refuse to watch 911 anymore. Same with Lonestar 911. I quit watching NCIS New Orleans years ago when they killed Christopher. You had such a high ratings, such a good wholesome story line. You've lost me as a viewer. I won't get invested in Sheriff's Country either. Probably kill off the Sheriff in that one. Y'all SUCK! So disappointed in this series.
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Won't watch!
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It shows the real reality of life. Yeah it sucks that it's Vince, however, in life we don't get to pick and choose who lives and who dies first. It impacts the whole team of actors as well as all of us and our investments in the show. When your a first responder you put your life on the line everyday to save others. It's the oath you take. I will continue watching.....
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Going to be different without him love him but he was also in real life recovering from cancer
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The shows are cheap and they suck
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