‘SEAL Team’ Actor’s Future on Show Uncertain, Set to Star in New CBS Pilot

Max Thieriot’s future on SEAL Team is now uncertain after the actor was cast in Cal Fire, a new CBS pilot about firefighters. SEAL Team was renewed for a sixth season at Paramount+ and a movie is in development as well. Cal Fire is inspired by Thieriot’s experiences growing up in Northern California fire country, and the actor co-wrote the pilot with Grey’s Anatomy veterans Tony Phelan and Joan Rater.

Theriot stars as Clay Spenser in SEAL Team opposite David Boreanaz. If Cal Fire is picked up to series, he could “potentially” do both shows, sources told Deadline. Talks are underway to figure out how he could do that, but if it doesn’t work out Season 5 ended with a cliffhanger that could easily see Clay leave the show. In the Season 5 finale, Clay told Jason (Boreanaz) he was going to do one more mission with Bravo Team before transferring so he could spend more time with Stella (Alona Tal) and their son. During that mission, he suffered an eye injury, which could inspire him to leave the military completely.

The Cal Fire pilot will star Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a convict hoping to redeem himself after his prison sentence is shortened. He joins a firefighter program that brings him back to his Northern California hometown, where he joins other inmates and elite firefighters to fight blazes across the state. Phelan and Rater wrote the teleplay, from the story co-written with Thieriot. CBS Studios is producing the show, with Jerry Bruckheimer as an executive producer.

Thieriot has starred on SEAL Team since it debuted on CBS. The show was almost canceled after four seasons, but it was renewed for a fifth that began on CBS before switching to Paramount+ partway through. SEAL Team found a new lease on life at Paramount+ and was quickly picked up for a 10-episode sixth season. Earlier this month, Paramount+ announced plans to produce a stand-alone movie.

Before starring on SEAL Team, Thieriot starred in the movies The Astronaut Farmer, Nancy Drew, Jumper, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, Chloe, The Family Tree, House at the End of the Street, and the 2015 Point Break remake. He also starred as Dylan Massett on Bates Motel. He directed the Bates Motel episode “Hidden” and two episodes of SEAL Team. Cal Fire earns Thieriot his first writing credit.