SPOILER ALERT! This story contains plot points from Friday’s episode of Fire Country on CBS.
In Friday’s episode dubbed “This Storm Will Pass,” the Edgewater firefighters encounter their first firenado that ends up taking the life of someone very close to the team.
Here, showrunner Tia Napolitano and executive producers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan explain why it made sense to say goodbye to a character who was first introduced in season one, and how the Cal Fire team — especially Bodi (Max Thieriot) — will respond going forward.
DEADLINE So was this your first firenado?
JOAN RATER Yes, we’re firenado virgins?
TIA NAPOLITANO We ask all the writers to come in with the most interesting incidents, big or small, at the top of the season. Someone pitched a firenado. Obviously that’s on the big end of the spectrum and we all gravitated toward it really early. Everything we do is inspired by real events and the best ones are, ‘oh my God, that actually happened?’ And that actually happens.
TONY PHELAN It was difficult to shoot and I think that our director Eagle Egilsson did a fantastic job. It was figuring out that confluence of CGI and practical effects.
JOAN RATER We’ve gotten really good at going, ‘oh God, this sounds expensive. How can we make it cool but affordable?’ It’s really freaking cool and we did it in a budget, so we’re pretty proud of it. And a lot of it goes to Eagle who is a sort of genius at figuring out how to do all that stuff and make it look cool.
PHELAN We had stunt people on wires. Every midseason you want a big event. We thought firenado was a good big event to kick off the second half of the season.
DEADLINE So you killed off Cara. When you first hired Sabina Gadecki, did you tell her ‘just FYI, your character is going to die in season two?’
PHELAN We didn’t know. When it was clear that the journey of our characters with this young girl Genevieve [Alix West Lefler] was going to include so many of them, we were like, ‘what would be a loss that the audience would really feel, that our characters would feel and would further deepen the plight of this girl? Who was really going to be her parent?’
DEADLINE Is this your first big death on the show?
PHELAN We had a death last year of a female convict camp worker that was pretty impactful. But yeah, this is a big one in terms of just of how many lives she touched and the fact that our characters had known her growing up.
DEADLINE So how long before you answer the question whether Bodi is, indeed, Genevieve’s dad?
PHELAN That’s revealed at the end of episode six.
DEADLINE Can you say what will happen with Jake [Jordan Calloway], who was in a relationship with Cara?
RATER His poor heart is going to be sad. The audience will see in episode six that Vince [Billy Burke] and Sharon [Diane Farr] know their way around grief because they lost her daughter. Our show is really about this found family. It’s about this small town, it’s about how everybody pitches in. There’s a beautiful scene in episode six where Vince is like, ‘don’t isolate, we’re here for you.’ And I think the rest of the season will be Jake grappling with his grief and everybody trying to help him with it.
DEADLINE For a show about firefighters, you really lean in to the personal stories.
NAPOLITANO It’s about striking that balance. And what I keep saying about episode five is that every scene could be an act out in that the action is huge, but the emotional heft is just as huge. It’s why it’s so satisfying to watch. It’s a balancing act every episode, but the deeper we get into the show, I think the more interested all of us as makers of the show are with the relationships, deepening them.
DEADLINE What more can we expect on the personal side this season?
NAPOLITANO We’re going to meet Gabriela’s [Stephanie Arcila] mom, who’s really going to be a story starter for Gabriela and for her ex, Manny [Kevin Alejandro]. So she enters our world in a very fun way.
PHELAN And we also have a real existential threat to Three Rock Con Camp in the latter half of the season, as well as who is going to be this young girl’s family because there are a lot of people at play. That’s an issue that we’re going to continue grappling with as we move forward.
DEADLINE How long will Bodi remain in cuffs?
RATER You’ll get some answers this season.
Fire Country airs Fridays on CBS.