After three seasons, CBS’ Fire Country is making waves. After keeping its original seven-member main cast intact since the pilot — an extremely rare occurrence these days — the firefighting drama will enter its fourth season without two of them, sources say.
The series had been preparing a possible exit for Jordan Calloway, whose ambitious Station 42 Captain Jake Crawford was given a two-week notice to pursue better career opportunities elsewhere. Instead, sources say it will be Stephanie Arcila (pictured), who plays firefighter, paramedic and Bode Leone’s (Max Thieriot) on-again, off-again love interest Gabriela Perez. Billy Burke (pictured below), who portrays Jake’s boss and Bode’s father, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Vince Leone, is the other actor leaving the series.
In an interview with Deadline, Fire Country co-creators/executive producers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan and executive producer/showrunner Tia Napolitano confirmed Arcila’s departure from the series, but declined to comment on Burke’s departure because they wanted to keep fans guessing about who exactly would be leaving the show with her.
While fans were concerned for Gabriela after the episode before the two-part season three finale aired on CBS last Friday with her deranged stalker Finn (Blake Lee) on the loose, that storyline didn’t directly spell Arcila’s departure, as Gabriela survived the stalker’s ordeal unscathed — at least physically.
Unlike Peter Krause's recent departure from another firefighting drama, ABC's 9-1-1, neither Arcila nor Burke's departures were revealed in the two-hour season finale of Fire Country, which ended on a cliffhanger Friday with the lives of three characters hanging in the balance at the Buena Vista memory care facility where Vince's father Walter (Jeff Fahey) was being treated. Engulfed in fire, the building collapsed, trapping Vince, his wife, Cal Fire Division Chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr), and retired Battalion Chief Walter inside.
Without proper equipment, Vince and Sharon had rushed inside to help Bode and Walter evacuate the building, which was in the middle of a devastating wildfire. The distraught Bode, already outside, had to be held back by Jake from returning to help his family as the building began to collapse.
Gabriela was on the scene and was last seen watching the raging fire in horror after her stalker story was solved. Audrey (Leven Rambin) shot Finn in the chest when he tried to kidnap Gabriela. His father Manny (Kevin Alejandro) – with help from Gabriela and Audrey – rushed to save Finn’s life. In the final minutes of the finale, Finn received medical attention while Audrey was taken away by the police, her fate unknown.
Network series are under pressure to reduce budgets and cutting back on cast is one way to cut costs. This was not the case for Fire Country, the executive producers said in the interview.
“It really just comes down to what's best creatively,” Rater said.
Added Napolitano, “That’s a reality, there’s danger in this sort of job, so we wanted to honor that and really up the stakes,” noting that the show is “leaning into the authenticity of the real-life heroes that our characters are playing, people die, they leave.”
Given Gabriela's position at the end of season three, the show's executive producers plan to have Arcila return as a guest star next season – and possibly beyond.
“We love Stephanie, and we are committed to saying that the Bode-Gabriela story does not end here, it goes on,” Phelan said. “We’re hoping that that we can bring that character back, because we think that they have such great chemistry, and the audience is really invested in the two of them.”
Added Napolitano, “We hope to see her back very soon, to give her a proper not goodbye, but see you later. In the epic love story of Bode and Gabriela, sometimes it’s very useful for a longing, to miss her, to miss them, to really crave seeing them on screen together, whatever they mean to each other.”
Burke, who has since landed a guest role on the Peacock crime thriller M.I.A., was reportedly among several Fire Country regulars who were asked earlier this year to reduce their episode count for the upcoming season, a common cost-cutting measure for studios. Sources say all of the actors declined, and ultimately no one's episode count for the upcoming season was reduced.
Asked if any of the cast's departures were related to that development, executive producers denied any connection.
"No, it really comes from our desire to be exciting storytellers," Rater said.