‘Fire Country’s Kevin Alejandro Talks Directing Spinoff ‘Sheriff Country’ and His Upcoming Guest Appearance (Exclusive)

Fire Country star Kevin Alejandro is making a (temporary) switch to Sheriff Country, and he spoke to PopCulture.com all about it.

The actor will direct Episodes 2 and 3 of the new spinoff and will appear in the fifth episode.

Alejandro’s episodes of Sheriff Country are airing on Friday and Oct. 31, respectively, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and he couldn’t be more happy with the way things worked out. “I directed Episodes 2 and 3, which was really cool because it’s the beginning of the show, so I got to bring a familiarity, I think, which is why they chose me to do it,” he said. “I’m familiar with Edgewater, so I get to bring that familiarity to it, but also with its own twist. And Morena Baccarin is the perfect sheriff for Sheriff Country. But that’s what you deal with. You get to see her trying to earn the trust of the community and the trust within herself to know that she truly deserves that position. As taxing as it may be, she’s so interconnected with the city.”

“And now her daughter is connected to a really important case; she’s getting scrutiny,” Alejandro continued. “So Mickey has to not blur the lines of professional and personal, but it’s not an easy thing. So that show has the opportunity to dive into sort of a deeper, darker aspect of Edgewater, which I think is really interesting considering that they’re dealing with the climate of the town, but it still has the same heart and the same relationships, turmoil, and love that we have over here in our fire department. So it’s really cool to melt both worlds. And, yes, you’ll see me over there. You’ll see them over here in Fire Country. You’ll see familiar faces in both worlds. Max [Thieriot] and his team have created a really beautiful universe.”

Alejandro is no stranger to directing, as he’s directed several episodes of Fire Country and will direct more for Season 4. And while some things on Fire Country and Sheriff Country are the same, there are some pretty big differences as well that he’s noticed.

“It’s funny because there’s definitely familiarity there that has to be there,” Alejandro explained. “But Fire Country is about our relationships; when you wanna get into the action, it’s about the event, what you do, and how you come together to save this. And in Sheriff Country, in my opinion, the difference is we’re action-oriented and they’re about the hunt.”

“So you get to be more mysterious and putting the clues together,” he continued. “So that’s the difference in my opinion. We have the frenetic energy of ‘Gotta go pure adrenaline’ to ‘Okay. Now, how do we solve this? Who’s the prey?’ It’s really cool.”

Along with directing, Kevin Alejandro is also set to guest star in Episode 5, “Expecting Trouble,” airing on Nov. 14. Not surprisingly, he revealed that Manny is “there to respond to a fire,” and that’s where his existence in the Sheriff Country world is established.

“So he’s there to give attention and wisdom, whether you want it or not,” he shared. “And he’s there to do his job. But it’s really cool to be able to see… I mean, I’m not the only one. You get to see Diane Farr, who plays Sharon Leone, go over there. So that was really fun to direct her in my episodes and her connection to her sister, Mickey, and how she’s gonna go there to really be there as an aunt to Mickey’s daughter, because she’s connected to a big case, she’s getting a lot of scrutiny, so Diane is there to support her. So it’s just a lovely experience.”

Sheriff Country has long been in the making, as CBS ordered it to series in 2024 for the 2025-26 season. So being able to finally expand on these stories and explore more of Edgewater has been pretty great, and Alejandro thinks it’s “amazing.” He gave much praise to Fire Country star and co-creator Max Thieriot and “his team.”

“It’s not easy to create something with today’s temperature in our industry,” Alejandro said. “And he did. And not only that, he’s created two. And who knows if there’s gonna be more? And I think it’s great for our audience to see not just one part of the community, see two sides of the community, and hopefully three or more in this, as all these worlds mix, because at the end of it all, we all come together when we meet each other.”

Not only will there be a lot to look forward to with Fire Country, but it’s clear that Sheriff Country will be bringing the action, mysteries, guest stars, and much, much more. Tune in to Friday’s episode, directed by Alejandro, airing at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day on Paramount+.