Heating things up! Max Thieriot is no stranger to the limelight — but his latest role as Bode Donovan on CBS’ Fire Country has made him an even bigger star.
The California native, 34, is not only the lead character on the show, which premiered in October 2022, but he is the creator as well as a writer and producer on the project.
The drama follows a group of convicts, including Bode, who are part of a firefighting program in Northern California that assists in lessening the risk of wildfires. Bode, however, is unlike his fellow inmates as he is the son of the local Cal Fire Battalion Chief Vince Leone (Billy Burke) and Cal Fire Division Chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr) — who haven’t seen their son the death of his sister years prior.
Thieriot’s firsthand experience seeing firefighters protect his hometown of Occidental, California, in 2017 during the local Tubbs and Nuns fires inspired him to tell the story of the first responders with the masses.
The Tubbs fire claimed at least 40 lives and affected more than 6,000 homes in the Sonoma County area, according to The Los Angeles Times. The Nuns fire took nearly a month for firefighters to get it contained.
“It was chaos. It was so surreal and unbelievable that this fire was spreading where it was. People just couldn’t imagine this ever happening,” the actor recalled during an interview with the Petaluma Argus Courier in October 2022. “And after it was all over, I was driving around, and it was just hard to digest [seeing local landmarks get demolished]. My gosh, the devastation.”
While filming the Fire Country pilot in summer 2022, he simultaneously began shooting season 6 of SEAL Team — a hectic schedule that only got busier as the firefighter drama picked up with episode 2’s filming schedule.
“It’s obviously a juggle,” the House at the End of the Street star told reporters during CBS’ virtual Television Critics Association press day in September 2022. “It’s been crazy, but life’s crazy. But I’m young, and I can keep up. I like staying busy, so it works for me.”
The TV star’s hard work paid off and Fire Country was renewed on January 6 for season 2 after eight episodes aired on the network.
“It’s definitely really rewarding. This has been my baby for the last three years, so it’s exciting to finally see it out in the world,” Thieriot told Collider in January. “But as rewarding as it is — and no matter how much I’m enjoying all of these moments with all of these people that I’m getting to celebrate this with — it’s also a lot of work. I’m certainly doing more work now than ever.”
When it comes to the rest of season 1 — and now season 2 — the Texas Rising alum is focused on telling complex stories.
“The biggest thing that I want and hope to achieve with this series is not only to shine the light on firefighters for being the heroes that they are, but also just everything that they go through as humans,” he continued. “It’s important to realize that even though Superman wears a cape, when he takes that cape off, there’s a man underneath it, and it’s important to peel back those layers too.”
Fire Country airs on CBS Fridays at 9 p.m. ET.
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