Jared Padalecki‘s casting on Fire Country is just the beginning with a spinoff series potentially right around the corner.
After Padalecki, 42, was cast on season 3 of the hit CBS series, showrunner Tia Napolitano teased what fans could expect from the new character.
“We launch Camden Casey in a really dynamic way,” she told TVLine on Wednesday, August 14. “We were so excited about casting Jared and he’s really going to flip the script in Edgewater.”
Napolitano hinted that Padalecki would be sharing the screen with series lead Max Thieriot.
“Everyone in Bode’s life before Camden hits the scene is sort of trying to tame a tiger when it comes to Bode to make sure he works the program so he can get out,” Napolitano told TV Insider about the third season’s story lines. “Camden is more Bode than anyone else on our show. I think they’re twin flames and similar and Camden’s able to encourage, draw out maybe the dangerous side of Bode, but he sees the talent and leans into it. He doesn’t try to put lightning back into the bottle.”
She continued: “It’s an interesting space where people have their opinions about how Bode should go about firefighting, but again, he’s not incarcerated anymore, so how much say does anybody really have over a grown man pursuing what he wants to pursue? So we’ll have to see.”
Us Weekly confirmed on Monday, August 12, that Padalecki has a three-episode arc after his hit CW series Walker was canceled. His Fire Country character, Camden, was described as a “SoCal firefighter and maverick with a surfer swagger who is a force to be reckoned with and immediately recognizes Bode’s raw talent.”
Camden’s introduction on Fire Country could pave the way for him to land his own spinoff. Fire Country, which premiered in 2022, has already expanded with a series centered around Sharon’s (Diane Farr) stepsister Mickey (Morena Baccarin). CBS greenlit Sheriff Country earlier this year, but the new drama isn’t expected to premiere until the 2025-2026 season.
Thieriot, who is also a cocreator, director and executive producer on Fire Country, previously told Us that he isn’t just stopping at one spinoff.
“I think there’s still a lot of room to explore,” Thieriot, 35, shared in May. “There’s more room to explore in Edgewater and outside of Edgewater.”
He added: “When I started, I was always putting the cart before the horse. In my head, I had probably at least three other versions outside of Fire Country. Whether any of those ever see the light of day — we’ll see. But I certainly have at least a couple more ideas for this world.”
CBS’ president and CEO George Cheeks has also discussed expanding the Fire Country universe.
“We are focused on mass-appeal franchises. This season’s No. 1 show was Fire Country, which completely lends itself to building out a whole new universe. … It became very clear that not only was the show special, it really felt like this could be a great example of us building together a franchise from scratch,” Cheeks said during a June 2023 interview with Deadline, noting that he’d already heard some “great” ideas for “new extensions” of the show.
Fire Country returns for season 3 on CBS Friday, October 18, at 9 p.m. ET.