Firefighters are already a regular presence on broadcast TV, courtesy of Ryan Murphy on Fox (”9-1-1″ and “9-1-1: Lone Star”), Shonda Rhimes on ABC (”Station 19″) and Dick Wolf on NBC (”Chicago Fire”). Now CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer are hoping to find their own heat with the new drama “Fire Country,” debuting Friday, Oct. 7 at 9 p.m.
While the other series are located in cities, “Fire Country” is set in a fictional small town called Edgewater in Northern California, where wildfires are an ever-present danger.
Max Thieriot (”Bates Motel,” “SEAL Team”) stars as inmate Bode Donovan who signs up for a special firefighter program to reduce his sentence. But he ends up in his hometown, which causes all sorts of issues given his checkered past there.
Two of the show’s regular cast members, Jordan Calloway and Jules Latimer, have Atlanta ties. In “Fire Country,” both play firefighters who grew up with Bode and remain close friends with each other. Here are thumbnails of each:
Credit: CBS
Credit: CBS
Jules Latimer
Age: 29
Atlanta ties: She grew up living all over metro Atlanta including Alpharetta, Lilburn and Lawrenceville, eventually graduating from Milton High School. She took part in the August Wilson Monologue Competition and later attended The Julliard School in New York City for drama. She has since made New York her home base, though “Fire Country” is being shot in Vancouver.
Previous major acting credit: “Guilty Party” on Paramount+ as Toni
Her “Fire Country” character: Eve, a mid-20s gay Black female firefighter who grew up in Edgewater. She came out and lived in San Francisco for a bit but decided to come back home. “Eve’s mother is a famous doctor in town. I’m trying to find my own path,” she said.
Prepping for the role: “I live on the East Coast. We don’t deal with wildfires. I was a little naïve about it. When we got to Vancouver (to shoot the show), we had boot camp. We had to learn how to carry the equipment and understand how fire works. And I’m now in the gym twice a day. It’s great to get paid to stay in shape!”
The show itself: “We deal with fire but we also have to do things like extraction. In one episode, we had to use the Jaws of Life to get someone out of a car. We did a search and rescue. I had to exit a helicopter but the cable gets stuck.”
Credit: CBS
Credit: CBS
Jordan Calloway
Age: 31
Key previous credits: the CW’s “Riverdale” and “Black Lightning” as Painkiller. (An effort to turn his Painkiller character into a spin-off didn’t end up working out.)
Atlanta ties: He grew up in California and moved to Atlanta while working on “Black Lightning,” which was shot in the area from 2018 to 2021.
“Fire Country” character: Jake Crawford is a confident, talented firefighter with commitment issues. “He’s a guy with a big heart, a guy that loves what he does, a guy who has bottled up his emotions and feelings. He makes mistakes but all in all is a stand-up guy.”
Why he likes the show: “The show deals with different facets of redemption. It’s redemption not just for Bode but other characters in Edgewater as well. And there is the whole idea of forgiveness. That’s what drew me to the project.”
How ‘Black Lightning’ helped him get his current role: “I stepped into having more confidence in my choices. I started getting good feedback and it set the stage for me being here.”
WHERE TO WATCH
“Fire Country”, 9 p.m. Fridays on CBS, available the next day on Paramount+
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