“The station is broken, and it’s broken because it lacks leadership and that key voice of reason and that’s someone that everybody looks to. Bringing in Shawn is also complicated because he comes in at a really difficult and complicated time for all of these people. They’re really just trying to pick up the pieces. He’s a character that is incredibly smart and methodical and has been doing this job for a long time. But our characters and the station are still reeling, and they don’t know how to put one foot in front of the other yet.”

However, Station 42’s firefighters are not the easiest to deal with, and the circumstances are not helping. “Anybody coming in, at that point in time, is going to feel like they’re trying to erase the past and take the place of somebody. That’s going to create friction that doesn’t necessarily need to be there and isn’t necessarily warranted. As we all know, when people are going through really difficult times, they react maybe not in the best way, just because of where they’re at, personally and emotionally, and we get to really see that. These people just want things to be back to the way they were, but that isn’t the reality anymore,” Thieriot explained.

Shawn Hatosy Boosts ‘Fire Country’ Season 4

Chief Richards will have a profound effect on the characters this season. “Shawn is there for a while in the beginning, and then he’ll be coming back. We also will get to experience real growth, not in his character as much as our characters and the way that we view him, which will be really fun and exciting,” Thieriot said. “We’ll get to see sort of a different version of what 42 looks like with that person and how our characters adjust to a different way of things,” he added. An actor like Hatosy elevates the characters he plays, and Thieriot was excited about his contribution to Fire Country. He expressed his excitement by praising Hatosy’s past work, saying:

Fire Country returns on CBS on Friday, October 17. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.