‘Fire Country’ Boss Talks Life-or-Death Cliffhanger, Bode & Chloe, and More

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Fire Country Season 4 Episode 9 “Who Owns the Dirt.”]

Uh-oh, there are multiple characters in deadly situations at the end of the Fire Country fall finale, which aired on Friday, December 19.

Station 42, led by Manny (Kevin Alejandro), determined to get ahead of a problem and not let Drake County become the next Edgewater, responds to a fire that could become the next Zabel Ridge (which led to Vince’s death). Along the way, Bode (Max Thieriot) realizes that Tyler (Conor Sherry), the teen he’s been semi-mentoring, has hitched a ride and ends up running into danger to deliver much-needed batteries; the firefighter finds him and gets him under a fire shelter just in time in the final moments. Meanwhile, Jake (Jordan Calloway) comes face-to-face with his half-brother Malcolm, and the two start getting on the same page, only for their truck to run into trouble on the way back and crash.

Below, showrunner Tia Napolitano unpacks the fall finale and those deadly cliffhangers and teases what’s ahead.

Like Chloe (Alona Tal) said, Tyler could do a lot worse than ending up like Bode, but how much was Tyler kind of following in Bode’s footsteps with the fire and going there about wanting to help an interest in being a firefighter versus just wanting to help in general because of what’s going on with his home life?

Tia Napolitano: That’s a good question. I think Tyler’s wanting to help is very much shooting towards aiming to be a firefighter. I think if he could be anything like Bode Leone, that’s what he wants to be. He wants Bode’s approval, he wants to be like Bode, Bode’s the example and the blueprint for where this kid wants to go. So I think that absolutely could manifest in the form of firefighting.

What can you tease about how Bode is going to handle dealing with the fire surrounding them and protecting Tyler when the show returns?

Bode is going to be out there. They are in a fire shelter. You’ll see he, even if you notice, threw his helmet, so there’s no helmet inside that shelter because it’s such a tight squeeze. Those are built for one person; there’s two of them. It’s all about being tight in there. So we will be on the edge of our seats wondering, do they survive? How do they survive? Tyler obviously doesn’t have any protective gear on, and all of a sudden, Bode is going to have to contend with all of that. If they survive and if they get out, what next? It’s not like everything’s safe,

Speaking of not being safe, the other cliffhanger with Jake and Malcolm’s crash just as the brothers are starting to warm up to each other, taking those baby steps, and they’re also in an area where it’s not exactly going to be easy to get to them either. So what can you say about what’s going on there and their dynamic now? Can they put aside all their differences, or does that come up while they deal with this?

It’s interesting. You just see a little preview of a thought and a closeness and a smile between these two brothers, and then of course, because we’re monsters, we throw them in a vehicle and throw that vehicle down a hill. I think the first concern is safety. Who’s alive, who’s injured? How do we get them out of there and are they going to be able to work together to get through this difficult situation? Are they going to wake up and come to blows? How will they be able to put aside any, if and when they do wake up, any kind of personal differences, is the fun and the meat of the mid-season premiere when we come back.

When did you know that the Zabel Ridge fire was going to be arson and that it would, as it seems be the now ex-boyfriend of someone from Bode’s past?

We didn’t think of it as arson to begin with, I will say that. And we decided that it would be arson to mine some more drama out of the way that we launched this season. And after we decided, while we found out, unfortunately, inspired by true events ripped from the headlines, there was an arsonist involved in the Palisades fire. We have, in an authentic way, learned so much from those fires and what transpired, and that that would be a link here too felt eerie and also right to bring awareness to issues like this. But yeah, we didn’t know when we started out the season, but as we made our way through, we got really excited about leaning in that direction.

Can you confirm that Landon (Josh McDermitt) did indeed set the fire, or is he just creepy in general and using that suspicion to intimidate?

Oh, that’s hilarious. I cannot confirm how that fire started.

We’re really seeing how far Bode has come with pulling himself back when he thought that they found the arson and what we got with Manny, and now, here, taking care of Tyler. But how hard is that struggle for him, and how hard is that struggle going to continue to be, to not revert to the old Bode?

We’re going to see that struggle pop up a lot, and we’re most interested in seeing Bode win over his demons, seeing that growth. Seeing Bode lay brick by brick this path to being the best version of himself over and over is a lot of the fun of watching Fire Country and not wanting him to backslide, really seeing him make progress, but that struggle is always within him. It’s kind of like his addiction issues. It’s in there. You’re just recovering and overcoming all the time, and that’s being a human, that’s why he’s compelling to watch.

We know how Bode and Chloe felt about each other in high school. Will we see sparks in the present day? How much is she going to continue to be around? Max and Alona on screen together are great, which we knew from SEAL Team.

I know, we’re so excited to have Alona. I think there’s that wish fulfillment of that unrequited crush or unfulfilled crushes on both their parts from high school coming back around when you’re an adult and saying like, wow, I’m still interested in you. And I think we’re at minimum flirting with that idea, but you will see a lot of Chloe and Bode screen time to maximize our wonderful — the opportunity to have Alona.

In a way, is a potential relationship there easier than what both have to deal with otherwise — Bode with Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) being gone, he and Audrey (Leven Rambin) broke up, and Chloe with what’s going on with Landon?

Yeah, there’s something really refreshing about, again, high school sweethearts. It’s like, remember who we were before life happened? And so there is an ease to them, and they do already know each other. So some of the groundwork is laid, and they come from the same small town, and I think an ease between them is a great way to put it.

Love Manny as battalion chief. It makes so much sense, and we’ve been seeing why he’s the right choice. Was that the plan from the moment you knew that Vince would be dying and you’d have to fill that spot?

That was not the plan. There was definitely a universe in which Jake got battalion chief, but in the worst way ever; it’s this thing he always wanted, but it comes out of tragedy. And then it just felt like both we as writers and Cal Fire, in a fictional way, were overlooking Manny, Manny with all of that experience, and how much did we love Manny as a leader in Season 1? And he was a leader of broken men at Three Rock and 42 starts off broken. He is the one to get them through this. It isn’t somebody’s first crack of battalion chief. That’s a hard gig with the former battalion chief having passed away, unfortunately. So it just felt so right and watching Manny rise and take on this responsibility in a way that really starts to ratchet up by Episode 9 and will continue to propel us through the back half of the season felt right.

When we saw him with Audrey and the medical rescue and he was talking her through that, I wrote down in my notes, battalion chief.

Yes! That’s what Richards (Shawn Hatosy) thought, too, right?

I appreciate how you’re showing with Sharon (Diane Farr) how grief can hit all of a sudden, like we see in last week’s episode during the fake memorial. Sheriff Country addressed the possibility of her dating again, and she’s not ready yet. How are we going to continue to see her grief?

We will continue to see her grief, and we’ll also continue to see her evolve past it, and the idea of dating will come up deeper into the season on our show. We really wanted to show a good long stretch of Sharon just being an individual, learning to live in that house alone and that job alone, before having her looking outside of herself. I think other people really, as on Sheriff Country, same over here, will be asking her before she’s asking herself. I think people tend to look at a widowed person and say, what are you going to get back out there? And it’s more complicated for them to kind of sort out, who am I?

Are we going to see her mom (Christine Lahti) again? Diane and Christine together? Great.

They’re so good. Christine Lahti is so good. We’ll absolutely see Ruby again. She’s delicious. Diane and Christine love working together. Everyone loves Christine. Ruby’s coming back.

Eve’s (Jules Latimer) warming up to her new Three Rock Guys and I like that it’s a process, that it wasn’t immediate, but are we going to see any of her old Three Rock guys again?

Oh, interesting. We do have plans for some Three Rock guys to return.

I love that Luke (Michael Trucco) is back in the U.S. That scene of him signing Bode’s probie book? So good because we see how he’s still grieving his brother and I feel like that can maybe kind of get lost with just because he’s not always on screen. How much more are we going to see of him, and how is he doing with that adjustment that he can’t just be the fun uncle anymore?

Yeah, we will see more of Luke. Luke will play a very big role in Bode’s professional life and step into more of a paternal figure because his brother is down. I think graduating out of fun uncle is more natural to Luke than he gives himself credit for. We love playing with is Luke bad or good, and what are his intentions? And I love when he surprises us with his very big heart, and that’s what happens at the end of [Episode] 8, and that note will continue to hit throughout the season.

What are the chances of seeing Gabriela again this season?

Good question. Never say never.

Are there any other returning characters coming?

Yes. I can’t tease who, but yes.

You have the two-part crossover with Sheriff Country coming up. What can you preview about that, but also any smaller crossovers between the two? Are we going to get Mickey (Morena Baccarin) over on Fire Country to get some sisters stuff on here?

We do have smaller versions of crossovers, and I can’t tease anything more than what’s been out about the crossover, other than it is so exciting to see these worlds interact. I mean, just seeing the dailies and when we see cuts come in, it’s going to be just absolute fan candy. I’m so excited for it to get out there.

What else can you say about what’s coming up in the show returns?

Huge twists. I do not think people are ready for the big twists we have coming for them when the show returns. Wait for those final moments of Episode 10, in the midseason premiere.

What can you say about any Sharon and Manny scenes? I love that you can see adults just being friends and being there for each other without devolving into drama.

Yes, that will keep happening. Sharon and Manny deepen their friendship in an unromantic way, in case people are asking, but we’re also going to push Manny to get back out there and start dating. He’s so serious with this job. At a certain point, we’re going to peer into his personal life and really spice that up, and Sharon will be there as his friend through that.

I liked it when they were butting heads a bit over leadership —  the way that you did it, it makes sense for both characters.

Yeah.

Chances of seeing Jared Padalecki again?

The door’s not closed, but no plans currently.

What about continuing to get more of the best trio on TV with Bode, Jake, and Eve?

Love them. There’s so much Bode, Jake, and Eve, they’re really growing up, but they’re having fun together. They’re still young. Bode and Jake’s apartment is like the funnest place to hang out, and lots of big friendship stories.

You had some great moments between them so far this season. Did you set out because of what they’ve been dealing with, because of the losses, let’s really showcase them?

Yes, absolutely. When we started this show, Bode was incarcerated, so it was hard to get fun scenes that were just to the friends and just him having an apartment, being able to hang out, being able to smile, make jokes. It’s so refreshing and fun to watch. You just want more of it. So, it’s chock full of that.

What’s the biggest challenge for Bode now that he’s no longer a probie?

That’s a good question. I think we’re going to see Bode figure out what kind of firefighter he wants to be. Does he just want to be a hose dragger? Is he a title chaser? Is he destined for battalion chief? It’s kind of like picking a major, picking a specialty as a doctor, and it’s the next step of like, oh, I get to pick who do I want to be? What do I want to do now? And we’ll go on that ride with him in a really fun way.

And then Bode and Sharon, the scene with the wedding ring was one of the best scenes of the season. What are we going to see between mother and son?

It’s so good. I think so much of the mother-and-son relationship, especially earlier on, was Sharon worrying about Bode, and we’re going to get to a point where Sharon doesn’t really have to worry anymore and can really cheer him on and be a cheerleader and just be a fan on the ride of his progress. And don’t forget, they were once a family of four and now they’re a family of two. So every scene between the two of them, especially in the domestic space, in the houses, that’s a family scene. Just the way that Manny and Gabriela were a full family scene. So what’s that family look like now? Where’s the joy? What are their new traditions? What does family dinner look like? We’re going to see all that.

Fire Country, Midseason Return, Friday, February 27, 2026, 9/8c, CBS