Jared Padalecki has been a fixture on the small screen going back to Gilmore Girls in 2000, but his new project will take him away from the network where he went on to star in Supernatural and Walker. The actor has been cast for the upcoming third season of Fire Country, headlined by Max Thieriot and returning in fall of the 2024 TV schedule. This won't just be a one-off gig, and could lead to helping building Fire Country into a larger franchise.
The Supernatural alum is set for a three-episode arc of Fire Country Season 3, with Deadline reporting that he'll play a maverick SoCal firefighter by the name of Camden. The character will bring his "surfer swagger" into the mix as he notices Bode's talent. The role is currently only billed as recurring guest, but it comes with the possibility of him getting his own show in the Fire Country world.
And no, that doesn't mean Padalecki joining the upcoming Sheriff Country spinoff as a co-lead opposite Morena Baccarin, and the showrunner didn't mention anything about a new maverick firefighter when speaking about the spinoff. It's worth noting that Jared Padalecki getting his own installment in the franchise is far from a sure thing, and there's no confirmation of whether the project would air on CBS like Fire Country or go to streaming like NCIS: Tony And Ziva even if it does eventually score a series order.
I can't help but wonder how exactly a spinoff could work with the main character as a firefighter, since that's exactly what Fire Country is now with Max Thieriot's Bode. Admittedly, CBS is the home of more than one very successful franchise with multiple series of the same basic premise, with NCIS and the FBIs. If a spinoff based on Padalecki's character was ordered, would it be set elsewhere, like the various NCIS shows? Or Fire World instead of Fire Country?
Okay, maybe not on Fire World, but the question of whether two firefighter shows in one franchise could work is worth pondering. NBC's Chicago Fire is the only fire department-based first responder show on the network, while Fox cancelled 9-1-1 and kept 9-1-1: Lone Star. ABC briefly had both 9-1-1 and Station 19, but Station 19 was cancelled and only 9-1-1 will return in the fall premiere season.
Of course, Jared Padalecki is a veteran leading man. While he shared the starring role with Jensen Ackles on Supernatural, he was the undeniably lead of Walker. Interestingly, Padalecki's arrival on CBS Fire Country – assuming at least one of his three episodes airs before winter break – follows Ackles' arrival on CBS' Tracker earlier this year. Ackles is also set to appear early in Tracker Season 2 ahead of his The Boys spinoff for Amazon Prime Video subscribers.
You can look forward to the third season of Fire Country starting with the premiere on Friday, October 18 at 9 p.m. ET, between S.W.A.T. Season 8 at 8 p.m. ET and the fall premiere of Blue Bloods' fourteenth and final season at 10 p.m. ET. You can also revisit the first two seasons of Max Thieriot's show streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
