‘Fire Country’ Details Reveal Major Disaster in Season 5 Premiere

How does Edgewater move on after that major flood in the Season 4 finale? Well, Fire Country left off with everyone in pretty much a good place — Bode (Max Thieriot) keeping his job and not having to worry about potentially going back to prison, Jake (Jordan Calloway) and Violet’s (Nesta Cooper) wedding, Sharon (Diane Farr) planning to go on a road trip with Alexi (Brett Tucker) — but will that change when Season 5 begins on October 9?

Well, for one, there’s going to be a massive sinkhole as a result of that flood, and it’s going to be up to Station 42 to race to help. We’ll also meet a new firefighter, CJ, played by new series regular Olivia Thirlby. CBS has released the official description from the Season 5 premiere, titled “Founders’ Day,” and it reads as follows: “As Edgewater celebrates its annual Founders’ Day festival, a catastrophic sinkhole opens beneath Main Street, trapping residents underground and forcing Station 42 into a high-stakes rescue. Meanwhile, a mysterious former firefighter arrives in Edgewater.” The network has also released the first photos, of the calm before the storm at the festival as well as Cal Fire getting ready to help.

Fire Country Season 5 is going to be shorter than usual, with 13 episodes, but Thieriot sees that as an advantage.

“I hate to say this, but when you do 20 episodes, it feels like whatever the show is, you end up having a couple that feel like a filler episode, for lack of a better term. They just don’t have the same weight as some of the other episodes. And I’m over here obviously reading them, so it’s easier for me to say that from afar. But I’ve been doing this long enough now where I get it, it’s 20 episodes. It’s hard to arc out story for 20 episodes and create 20 significant episodes in a season. That’s a real challenge,” he told TV Insider after the finale.

“And so, for me, one of the blessings of doing 13 episodes is that there’s less to be thinking about in the large scheme, so, you can arc out your season and each episode is that much more significant and that much more important,” he continued. “There’s times when maybe they feel a little packed with story or like you’re going through stuff quicker, but, at the same time, I think when you build a timeline that makes sense in the world, that doesn’t bump on you. But yeah, it gives us a chance to really dig in on the 13 best episodes. And so honestly, I’m excited about that.”

Fire Country, Season 5 Premiere, Friday, October 9, 9/8c, CBS