‘Sheriff Country’: Morena Baccarin Previews Ben McKenzie’s Return

Meredith Jacobs November 7, 2026, 10:00 am

'Cyclone' -- CBS Original Series Sheriff Country, scheduled to air on Friday, October 9 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured (L-R): Morena Baccarin as Sheriff Mickey Fox and Ben McKenzie as Sheriff Jim Wade. — John Medland/CBS

What To Know

Ben McKenzie will return as Sheriff Jim Wade in Season 2 of CBS’s Sheriff Country, starring his wife, Morena Baccarin.
Wade is a longtime friend and trusted adviser to Baccarin’s Mickey, but what’s he hiding?
Baccarin and showrunner Matt Lopez tease what to expect next.

“It’s fun to be in a show that our kids can watch for a change,” Morena Baccarin says of acting with her husband, Ben McKenzie, who’s guest-starring on her CBS drama, Sheriff Country, in Season 2.

McKenzie plays Sheriff Wade, who’s close to Baccarin’s Mickey and her family; they’ve known each other since the academy, and he’s her daughter Skye’s (Amanda Arcuri) godfather. “He’s got a deep connection to the family,” Baccarin tells TV Insider.

Showrunner Matt Lopez shares that when he returns, the series will “peel back the history of their friendship, [including] the fact that Jim Wade has a very almost uncle-like [relationship with Skye]. He’s a very trusted member of Mickey’s inner circle. And while they’re more or less the same age and became cops at the same time, Jim actually became sheriff over 10 years ago, whereas for Mickey, it’s the last two to three years. So when some stuff comes up, some sort of difficult and thorny questions come up, Wade is a resource for her and a trusted person she can go to.”

Ben McKenzie as Sheriff Jim Wade and Morena Baccarin as Sheriff Mickey Fox — 'Sheriff Country' Season 2 Premiere

John Medland/CBS

But that might change. Yes, Wade looked after Mickey and called in Boone (Matt Lauria) and Cassidy (Michele Weaver) when she got drunk following the reveal of her mom being alive (pictured above), but when McKenzie’s casting was first announced, it included the fact that he “has a few secrets of his own.”

Lopez agrees, “As we get a little deeper into season, there may be more to Jim than we’re seeing.” When he returns, it will be part of the season-long mystery.

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Adds Baccarin, “He ends up being involved in a storyline that really throws Mickey off. She really does not see this one coming, and so it becomes another complicated relationship for her.” She doesn’t know where the story will end up just yet, but she does know that McKenzie will be back for “two more, maybe three” episodes.

What are you hoping to see when Ben McKenzie returns as Wade? Let us know in the comments section below.

Sheriff Country, Fridays, 8/7c, CBS