Once his town’s golden boy, Bode is currently locked up and looking to secure his freedom. But his only way out is through joining a volunteer firefighter program — on the off chance he’ll get early release because of it. When he’s sent to his hometown to work alongside people from his past, Bode has to contend not only with fires but also with the life he left behind. Co-created by the show’s lead, Max Theiriot, alongside Grey’s Anatomy writer-producers Joan Rater and Tony Phelon, Fire Country also stars Kevin Alejandro, Jordan Calloway, and Stephanie Arcila.
Jordan Calloway and Billy Burke in Fire Country
The inmates:
The Cal Fire crew:
Bode Donovan (Thieriot) has served five years and counting for armed robbery, and his appeal was just denied. But his lawyer has an idea that might help Bode reduce his sentence: join the local prison-release program, which allows inmates to work alongside firefighters to beat back massive wildfires. Bode accepts the assignment, not realizing he’ll be working in his hometown of Edgewater, California, where he was known for being a good ol’ boy before he ran into trouble with the law. As the inmates team up with Cal Fire’s elite crew of first responders, Bode tackles blazing fires, new friendships with old acquaintances, and his secretive past. Will he finally get the redemption he’s been hoping for?
Max Thieriot and Ty Olsson in Fire Country
No, it’s not based on a book.
No, it’s not based on a true story.
The series takes place in the fictional Northern California town of Edgewater.
Throughout the first season of Fire Country, Bode battles fires alongside his fellow inmates at Three Rock Con Camp, aka fire camp, while drama spreads throughout his personal life like, well, wildfire. And while Bode can put out actual fires, he’s unable to dampen the blazing hot issues from his past that come roaring back in the Season 1 finale.
While Bode’s well-liked in fire camp and committed to staying clean, that wasn’t always the case in prison. And when his former cellmate and supplier, Sleeper (Harvey), shows up at Three Rock, Bode’s confronted with his past. Sleeper starts selling drugs in camp, threatening to harm to Bode’s friends and family if he reports him. So Bode stays quiet — that is, until Sleeper winds up injuring him with a chainsaw out of negligence. When he finally confesses to hurting Bode, Captain Manny Perez (Alejandro) sends Sleeper back to prison.
But that doesn’t stop Sleeper from interfering with Bode’s early release. When the entire camp gets drug-tested, Sleeper manages to swap Bode’s clean urine sample with one that shows up positive for drugs. Bode’s now-girlfriend, Gabby (Arcila), immediately believes Bode that the test is wrong — but his parents, Sharon (Farr) and Vince (Burke), as well as Manny, aren’t as quick to believe him.
Separate from fire camp drama, Sharon and Vince have been keeping secrets of their own. Vince finds out that Sharon’s kept in touch with his brother, Luke (Trucco), even after Luke made a pass at her. But their continued contact is for good reason: Luke’s a donor match for Sharon. The news couldn’t have come soon enough, as none of Sharon’s treatments for chronic kidney disease have worked so far. It’s about time the Leone family gets some good news!
Back to Bode: His parole board meeting is coming up, and he’s prepared to tell the truth — but a visit from Melody (Brittany Bradford), an investigator from the state attorney general’s office, changes everything. She believes Bode had Sleeper removed from Three Rock because he was a rival drug dealer. She threatens to block Freddy (Davis) from being released if Bode doesn’t “confess,” despite knowing that Freddy should be getting out of prison due to his wrongful conviction. (Plus, Freddy’s fiancé, Cookie, just had a baby, and Freddy’s desperate to spend time with both of them.) To everyone’s surprise, Bode admits at his parole hearing to relapsing and bringing drugs into fire camp. So it’s back behind bars for our main character.
But would Bode have admitted all that if he’d known what he was leaving behind? Before Bode’s parole hearing, Cara confessed to Jake that her younger sister, Genevieve (Alix West Lefler) is actually her daughter — and she might be Bode’s daughter, too.
Season 1 ending in a three-alarm fire for our complicated hero Bode? Cue the sirens!
