Fire Country’s freshman season continues to blaze a trail at CBS, and burn down records as it airs new episodes on the 2023 TV schedule. The Max Thieriot drama has brought in big audiences every week, and now, following the special post-AFC Championship episode, the series has hit more impressive milestones, including on big one for its network.
Normally, new episodes of Fire Country air on Friday, however, a couple of weeks ago it got moved to a special timeslot, airing after the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals game. Over the seven days since the episode’s release, it has racked in 12.22 million viewers, according to Deadline. While that number alone is impressive, in this season of TV, the CBS drama brought in the second largest seven-day audience, with only Yellowstone ahead of it, which had 12.68 million views.
However, Yellowstone airs on the Paramount network, so looking at broadcast television only, Fire Country brought in the largest audience for a scripted series all year according to the article. Last year’s NCIS: Hawai’i was the last episode to reach a number this high, and it also aired after the AFC championship.
The milestones don’t stop there, Fire Country’s January 29 episode, also brought in the largest streaming audience of any CBS series ever on Paramount+ and CBS’ digital platforms. According to the article, these streaming numbers are the highest for any episode of TV since the April 6, 2021 episode of NCIS.
Considering the three other shows mentioned that have the same viewership numbers are all well-established franchises, it makes Fire Country’s milestones all the more impressive. Also, when you pile on the other achievements the series has received since its premiere, it seems clear that Max Thieriot's fire drama is likely here to stay.
To review the list of achievements: Fire Country has consistently built its audience as Season 1 progressed, the series was quickly picked up for a full season after only a few episodes, and was then renewed for Season 2 right before its mid-season premiere.
As someone who watches the show, I’m not shocked at all that fans can’t get enough of Fire Country. Between the established fanbase Max Thieriot brought from SEAL Team to the shocking set pieces and compelling characters, the show’s popularity is not surprising to me, but it’s also incredibly impressive.
Now, as we continue through the back half of Season 1 the plot keeps getting wilder, with Bode’s love triangle heating up and a character death being teased. So, buckle up Cal Fire fans, because based on these wildly high viewership numbers, a whole lot of us are in for a wild ride.
New episodes of Fire Country air Fridays on CBS at 9 p.m. ET and are available to stream the next day with a Paramount+ subscription.
