Where Fire Country Season 4 Picks Up — and Why Vince’s Death Matters

Fire Country returns with fallout that starts before the premiere’s opening frame. Executive producer Tia Napolitano confirms “there will be a time jump of eight weeks” after the care-facility collapse that trapped Vince (Billy Burke), Sharon (Diane Farr), and Walter (Jeff Fahey) as Bode (Max Thieriot) watched from outside. The Season 4 trailer already reveals that Vince dies, forcing Station 42 to rally without its battalion chief.

Napolitano calls the premiere “a classic Fire Country incident.” “It feels good,” she says. Viewers should expect “bread and butter” stakes and “our heroes” working to “pull off a win.” She also teases, “We’re going to dole out some surprises,” plus “a meaty episode with lots of exciting things to digest.”

Bode’s Headspace: “Bode’s a Rollercoaster”

Napolitano frames Bode’s mindset plainly: “Yeah, Bode’s a rollercoaster.” He enters the season still injured and, as she reminds, “he shouldn’t be working in an official capacity.” Yet “our Bode is never one to stay out of the action,” and in those final moments he’s “wanting to lunge into that building,” wrestling “a feeling of helplessness and loss of control.”

Across the season, Bode starts “pursuing his professional goals” in “a really tangible, super exciting way.” “He gets to decide what kind of firefighter he wants to be now.” The team is “working towards the end of his probie-dom” and “working towards the end of his parole.” Napolitano adds that Bode will try “to be his own support system.”

Sharon, Family Reveals & The Leone Legacy

Sharon faces the loss of Vince, while the show will “meet someone significant from Sharon’s family.” Expect “shades of Sharon that we’ve never seen before,” deepening how she relates to her past.

Jake Crawford: Career Choices and a Return to Personal Stakes

Jake Crawford (Jordan Calloway) nearly left for a posting in Butte. “Butte’s always a possibility for him,” Napolitano says, but Season 4 shifts focus: “We really want to dive back into his personal life,” including “his family” and “his past.” In love, “He has Violet” (Nesta Cooper), and the show aims to honor “how difficult it can be to really date a first responder… It can be scary and stressful and wonderful.”

Manny Perez’s Next Chapter

Manny Perez (Kevin Alejandro) is due for a rise: “We want to get Manny back in uniform.” After the wringer he’s been through, “we really want to see him rise.” With Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) “exiting in the Season 4 premiere,” expect Manny’s fatherly guidance to aim at Jake, Eve (Jules Latimer), and Bode.

Eve Edwards, Three Rock Reborn & Francine

“Three Rock is so important to the DNA of this show.” The camp burned down — “not the team, not the spirit” — and Season 4 will show “a Three Rock unlike the Three Rock we’ve ever seen.” Eve Edwards will “eventually find a role at Three Rock,” while the story “deep dive[s] into her personal life,” including the cliffhanger with Francine (Katie Findlay) about kids. Francine is “not every episode, but she’ll be around.”

Bode & Audrey: Trouble Early

Audrey (Leven Rambin) turned herself in after shooting Finn. Season 4 explores “those consequences,” including her question, “Is this me backsliding on my progress?” Napolitano previews a rough stretch: “A large obstacle comes between them” starting in Episode 2, and the couple will “wonder if they’re going to make it through or not.”

Crossovers, Cameos & Sheriff Country

The shared universe grows. Expect “a big event crossover” with Sheriff Country featuring Mickey (Morena Baccarin), plus “smaller” trades where “one character or two or three” hop between shows. “We’re expanding a universe so we want it to feel that way,” Napolitano says, with “lots of Easter eggs.” Episode 5 brings W. Earl Brown for a “lighter, fun episode.” “He’s so fun. Earl is so fun.”