'Fire Country' Spinoffs in the Works

After just one season, Fire Country may already be getting a spinoff on CBS. CBS president and CEO George Cheeks told Deadline at the Banff World Media Festival that Fire Country, which had a pretty impressive launch as it was the season's number one new show, "lends itself to building out a whole new universe." The freshman season of the Max Thieriot-led drama saw 8.4 million viewers, with a 0.8 demo rating, ranking fifth in audience on CBS. 

Since Cheeks said they are focusing on "mass-appeal franchises," likely after seeing the success of the NCIS and FBI franchises, it's possible that Fire Country will be next in the franchise world, as Cheek said that, "It became very clear that not only was the show special, it really felt like this could be a great example of us building a franchise from scratch."

However, fans shouldn't be expecting a Fire Country spinoff any time soon, at least not in the near future. With the ongoing WGA strike that will have the support of SAG-AFTRA, Fire Country's second season may be getting delayed, as well as other show. It may not happen for a while but don't count out any Fire Country spinoffs just yet.

"We're not necessarily looking at next year. We're looking when they're ready," Cheeks explained. "That's the beauty of the gestation process. We know that we're doubling down on this one, so let's get it right. And whether that that means three years down the road or whether that means a Paramount+ original or a CBS original, we'll see where it lands."

The fact that CBS is already thinking about expanding Fire Country when the first season only just ended last month means that they seem pretty serious about it. What those possible spinoffs could entail has endless possibilities. It could turn into a One Chicago-type deal where they focus on different forms of first responders and the prison system or something similar. Or maybe follow in the footsteps of fellow CBS franchise NCIS and have a similar plot but set in a different city. With the first of the spinoffs likely years away, there will be plenty of time to theorize what could happen and hope that Fire Country will expand into a full-fledged franchise.

As of now, Fire Country is supposed to come back later this year as part of CBS' fall schedule, but the network has been reworking the lineup due to the strike, meaning that Paramount+ originals could be making their way to broadcast television. If Fire Country doesn't return for Season 2 in the fall, it's going to be a hard wait for it. At least fans may be able to look forward to a spinoff or two in the future.