'The Scope is Grand': Kevin Alejandro Previews 'Fire Country' Season 2 (Exclusive)

Season 2 of Fire Country returns on Feb. 16, and fans are going to be in for a big premiere. Following the shocking events of the Season 1 finale, Bode's back in prison. Meanwhile, the Station 42 and Three Rock crews respond to a massive earthquake in Edgewater. With a lot on the line, Kevin Alejandro, who plays Cal Fire Captain Manny Perez on the CBS drama, exclusively tells PopCulture.com what to expect in the Season 2 premiere and beyond. 

PopCulture: Season 2 is going to kick off with an earthquake. How was it filming something that massive?

Kevin Alejandro: Our entire show is massive, and it's always a journey and a giant puzzle to put together, but Bill Purple, who's our producing director, director of the opening, as you know, or the first episode, he killed it. It's a bunch of pieces, but we have the best crew, the best departments. We can trust that everyone who has responsibility on the show is going to come with 100 percent. We don't have to act that much. So when we start shooting, we're like, "Oh dude, that really happened."

PC: Is there anything that you can preview about the episode in terms of its caliber and what the crews have to deal with?

Alejandro: Yeah, you know what? I think we're coming out of the gate so hard right now that we have upped the experience, the Fire Country experience, that I'm a little scared that when we go for more seasons, we're actually going to keep up with it because we come out hard and good. The scripts are so big, and the energy is so high, and the relationships are so true, and real, and raw, that our writers have their work cut out for them to keep it up. Because I think at the end of this, we're half-order season, so we're going to put everything we have into it, and it shows. All the money's on the screen. Everything's there, the scope is grand, and it just feels like the Fire Country that people left, but it's a Fire Country 2.0.

PC: In the first season, we started to learn more about Manny's past as a recovering alcoholic, and he had to work a second job in order to pay off money that he owes. What will that look like going into the second season and his character development?

Alejandro: Yeah, he's dealing with a lot of things, right? There's still trying to have a say so in Gabriela's life and be there for her support. Also, he's really affectionate and he cares so much for Bode. We're rediscovering the relationships between he and Sharon as close friends, and what Vince expects of Manny. So he has a lot of things going on that I'm honestly not sure if Manny's past will come into play this season. I feel like it's going to be a lot of him dealing with what new responsibilities he has throughout, and how to navigate who he once was, and who he actually is now, and what he truly wants in life that I'm sure that's going to be enough of a struggle that his addiction will sit in the corner for a little bit. I'm not really certain what their plans are.

PC: As you had just talked about, he has this protectiveness over Bode, and he's really grown to be his mentor and a second father figure to him. Following the events of the Season 1 finale, how will Bode being in prison affect him?

Alejandro: I think it's affected him the entire time from the moment he admitted to something he didn't do, he's always going to question it. But Manny comes from the same world. He understands, which is why I think he and Bode have such a connection. They come from a similar world, the prison life, and making wrong choices, and that he's going to empathize for him through his decisions. But because Manny has been a success through the program and still trying to figure out who he is and what he wants, there's still that sort of connection, because I feel like they're sort of a mirror image of each other at different times in their life, and they teach each other things. And I think that's a really great sort of dynamic that they created for us.

PC: How is that going to affect Three Rock, if it will at all?

Alejandro: Oh, I think it's definitely going to affect Three Rock. In any situation in life, when we are used to something, when we have a routine, or we have something that we do, the smallest change is jarring. So I think we're all jarred by the differences that are happening throughout the progression of this season, and I think that's a big thing. It's not only about healing, it's about redemption. So now they have a new environment to struggle with those same sort of sensitivities, and that's what's going to sort of help maintain the level of newness that our audience expects.

PC: His relationship with Gabriela is also, of course, a really special one, on top of the fact that they're both firefighters. Is there any moment that you're hoping to see between the two of them in the second season, whether it's on the job or at home?

Alejandro: Honestly, I love every scene that I do with Stephanie, and in real life, I feel like she is my daughter. I call her mija in the show, but I call her mija in real life. We have a really great connection, she and I. And I'll just say this: I don't really know, but I've never been disappointed by the experience that she and I have had together as father and daughter on the show. We've already had some beautiful moments together this season that people haven't seen yet. If there's one relationship that our show does very well, it's this father and daughter. And I've never been disappointed by it, and I only ever look forward to whatever they give us.

PC: Do you think the fact that they are both firefighters is what makes it all the more special?

Alejandro: I think it definitely enhances it. Manny struggled with that in the beginning. If you remember, he didn't want her to do it. He knows how dangerous it is; he doesn't want to lose his daughter that way. And he knows the risks that the job entails. But I think the further that he sees her succeed, the more he sees her succeed, the more he sees her passion, the more he sees himself. And I think there's a sense of pride in that. I've done it. I'm doing what I got to do. My daughter is her own person. She does make her own decisions. She has strength, she has power, and she has talent. And I think that makes Manny very proud.

PC: The first season introduced a new love interest for Manny, played by Rebecca Mader. Could we expect her to show up again as Faye Stone in Season 2, or maybe a different love interest for him?

Alejandro: I honestly don't know the answer to that question. No one tells me anything. And I think they do it for a reason. I think nobody wants to foreshadow anything. We want it to just kind of happen. But I got to tell you, Manny has a lot on his plate this year, this season. He has a lot to think about, he has a lot of readjusting to do, a lot of self-discovery, that I'm not even sure if love can even come into play at this point. He's got a lot to deal with.

PC: Is there anything else that you can tease about Season 2, or maybe something that you're hoping to see?

Alejandro: Well, I'm not sure about a tease, but I am hoping that, as you know, I'm not sure if you do know, actually I directed episode 202, and it's massive as well. And it's a beautiful, beautiful-looking episode, and the performances are stellar, and there's so much going on in it that I'm looking forward to seeing the audience's response to that and how the world receives it.

Fire Country Season 2 premieres on Friday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET as part of CBS' 2024 spring schedule.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.