Fire Country fans should brace for the show to be vastly different in Season 4.
The trailer for the upcoming season revealed that Vince (Billy Burke) died in the Season 3 cliffhanger fire. That set off a chain of events leading to big changes, including a new character joining the mix.
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Shawn Hatosy Shakes Things Up On Fire Country
One of Fire Country’s creators, Joan Rater, confirmed that The Pitt star Shawn Hatosy is on the show in a role like never before. Hatosy is playing fire station fixer, Battalion Chief Brett Richards.
The character is brought in to help Station 42 following the loss of Vince. “As Bode, Sharon and the rest of 42 still reel from Vince’s death, Richards, no stranger to loss himself, is determined to break our fragile heroes all the way down in order to put them back together,” reads part of the character description Rater gave Us Weekly.
Rater is thrilled that Hatosy was available to play this character, which will change the dynamic of the show. After all, Hatosy has been one busy guy lately.
Along with his role on The Pitt, he also wrapped his run on Chicago P.D. earlier this spring.
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Fire Country Boss Shares More About New Character
Rater revealed a lot went into creating this new character, who has to come in and pick up the pieces after Station 42 suffers a loss that rocks them to their core. The writers and creators worked together to find the right fit in the aftermath of Vince’s death.
“We created this character who — literally his job is to come into stations that are struggling and to diagnose what the problem is and to figure out how they can move forward,” Rater expressed.
Chief Brett Richards brings a “formidable presence” to Station 42 that is needed, but it won’t be easy. Fire Country fans can expect conflict with the new chief, especially with Bode (Max Thieriot) and Sharon (Diane Farr).
Rater warns that Richards isn’t the type of guy to back down from conflict, even if it involves the infamous Leone family, which is basically Cal Fire royalty.
“We needed a formidable presence because our characters are strong, and Vince was a strong guy. We wanted to create somebody to come in and sort of read the room,” Rater stated.
There’s no question that life at Station 42 will be different without Vince and with the new chief. However, that isn’t the only change coming to Fire Country Season 4.
As Parade reported, Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) will exit the show in the premiere, but she may not be gone for good.
Get ready, Fire Country fans, because Shawn Hatosy is adding a whole new dynamic to the CBS drama!
Fire Country Season 4 premieres on Friday, October 17 at 8/7c on CBS.
Next: Is Jelly Roll Returning to ‘Fire Country’?