‘Fire Country’ Gets Big Behind-the-Scenes Update for Season 5

Fire Country has a major update for its upcoming fifth season.

Deadline reports that Eric Guggenheim has been tapped to take over as showrunner for Season 5 after Tia Napolitano steps down at the end of Season 4.

News comes nearly two months after it was revealed that Napolitano would be leaving Fire Country at the end of the current season to focus on other projects. At the time, CBS had not yet renewed the firefighter drama for Season 5, but the renewal was confirmed just days later. In addition to showrunning, Guggenheim will also board the show as an executive producer alongside creators Max Thieriot, Joan Rater, and Tony Phelan, Bill Purple, and JBTV’s Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed.

Fire Country marks Guggenheim’s return to the Eye Network. He co-developed the Magnum P.I. reboot with Peter Lenkov and executive produced the series, eventually taking over as showrunner after Season 2 for the rest of the show’s run, including its brief transition from CBS to NBC after Season 4. He also worked on the Hawaii Five-0 reboot for five seasons and was the co-showrunner for Seasons 7 and 8. Additional credits include Miracle and Parenthood, as well as Netflix’s upcoming Harlan Coben limited series adaptation, I Will Find You.

Meanwhile, Napolitano joined Fire Country after the pilot as executive producer and showrunner and has been in those roles since. She will now be leaving at the end of Season 4 so she can focus on developing other projects under her overall deal with CBS Studios, which produces Fire Country.

“Tia has been instrumental in helping both build and steer Fire Country, which not only became a top series, but is also the foundation of a growing universe,” CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach and CBS Studios President David Stapf said in a joint statement via Deadline. “We’re grateful for all her contributions and tireless work, and look forward to collaborating with her on future projects.”

“I am beyond proud of the past four seasons of Fire Country,” Napolitano added. “All of my gratitude to our cast, crew, writers, producers, fans, and, of course, CBS and CBS Studios. It’s been a beautiful ride!”

New episodes of Fire Country air on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, following new episodes of its spinoff, Sheriff Country. Season 5 is expected to air later this year, but more information should be announced in the coming months.