CBS’ Fire Country premiered its third season on Friday, October 18. Fans had been eagerly awaiting the new season, excited to see what would happen to some of their favorite characters (and what happens now that Bode is free!)
We got the chance to talk to Max Thieriot all about Bode’s journey this season, working with his friend Jared Padalecki, and more.
Editor’s note: this interview contains spoilers for the season 3 premiere. This interview has also been edited for length and clarity.
Nerds and Beyond: Bode is a free man this season. How are the dynamics going to change going into the rest of the season?
Max Thieriot: Majorly. He’s sort of always acted within the limitations of basically being incarcerated and physically what he can and can’t do. I think getting to see him being free out in the world, able to really sort of live the life that he wants, is going to change everything in a big way. Obviously a lot of these other characters, they’re at different points in their lives where they were compared to season one. I think just naturally, the relationships have already evolved. And he’s getting out at a different time in other people’s lives as well, like Gabriela.
I think this season is a lot about him focusing on the Leone legacy and this firefighter legacy, and trying to find a replacement for his previous addiction and basically his North Star and his driving force behind what makes him tick and makes him wake up every morning. I think in his eyes, that must be firefighting. I think we get to explore what he sort of perceives as being a healthy addiction. Is that actually healthy? Is any addiction healthy? No. So I think it’s definitely going to change everything. It’s also so much fun for us to get to see him outside of those walls, the handcuffs off and we meet a guy who’s at a really, sort of pivotal moment in his life, and watch him try and adjust to society and life on the outside while trying to explore these relationships. It’s going to be fun. It’ll be bumpy, but it’ll be fun.
Nerds and Beyond: We see in the premiere that Gabriela tells Bode that she felt more with him than she did at her wedding with Diego. What can fans of the two of them expect this season?
Max: There’s a lot. The relationship goes through a lot this season, and I think a lot of that is… there’s been so much sort of push and pull and back and forth between them over the seasons. Before we got to where we ended up in season two, we were at a place where you would assume the two of them would just instantly get together, and that would be it. But I think after everything they’ve been through, they have a lot to work through and a lot to digest. Bode sort of starts season three by assuming that she had just gotten married. So I think he has so much new information now to even just digest, to try and figure out what that means for him, what that means for them. Can he now forget about all the other stuff that’s happened and just instantly move forward, or do they have stuff to work through? Which I think they do, and I think independently, they both have a lot of things to work through, personally with themselves. Gabriella has a lot of personal stuff that she has to kind of work through. Her character goes on sort of a big journey this season. And Bode does too, right? It’s like he has to find himself, and he has to also sort of try and redefine what their relationship is. He’s heard the things that she said, but it’s obviously gone through a crazy, crazy road to get here.
Nerds and Beyond: Jared Padalecki joined Fire Country for a few episodes, and it seems like his character is going to have a big influence on Bode. Can you share anything more about him joining, working with him, and the relationship between those two characters?
Max: He definitely comes in as a sort of a big mentor in a lot of ways. There’s a lot of takeaways that Bode gets from Camden, personally, and when it comes to being a firefighter I think Camden shows up and he’s this big sort of presence. Obviously, Jared is like a huge dude. [laughs] And so he has that presence anyway. So it’s not surprising that when this character shows up, he really embodies that he’s different than the rest of our local fire department. He’s from Southern California, he very much presents that SoCal firefighting style and swagger. He comes in, and instantly — you know the two of them work directly with each other throughout the entire arc, and I think by the end, I think while Bode feels like he’s learning something from Jared’s character the entire way, I think we end up in a place where they realize they’ve sort of learned things from each other, and they both have some takeaway. Which, I think, is really fulfilling for the audience and for both characters to feel like they’ve actually learned more than they realize from one another.
Nerds and Beyond: What’s one of your favorite characteristics of Bode’s?
Max: Just how selfless he is most of the time. His desire to always do the right thing, and his desire to help everyone around him and put everyone else first. While that can kind of be a little detrimental to himself at times, I think it’s an honorable trait. It’s probably one of my favorite things about him, [he just] puts everyone else above himself.
Nerds and Beyond: We’ve seen how far Bode’s relationship with his parents has come. What’s your favorite thing about working with Diane Farr and Billy Burke?
Max: I love working with the two of them. I think they’re both incredible. I feel really lucky to have two actors who bring so much to their characters. When we get to do these scenes, I feel like the three of us are all so different, [but] somehow we are so compatible and work well together. And I think that there’s just this natural thing about acting with them… I think that Diane… Billy and I sort of lean on her a lot. She’s so cerebral about her approach to everything, and we have a lot of fun. When we get into these moments and these scenes where we get to play off each other, it’s like when they say cut, the three of us are sort of all sitting there smiling, and we’re just having a great time. While the job can be taxing and hard and physical, I think it makes it so much easier when you have people to share these scenes with that. You really feel like you’re building and finding these moments, and it’s great. I can’t speak highly enough of the two of them.
Nerds and Beyond: What are you most looking forward to fans seeing this season?
Max: A lot of the new characters that we bring in. We bring in a lot of people this year that add so much to this world and to the show, and that really help shape the characters that we’ve come to love so much… to shape their journeys. Whether it’s Jared or Levin [Rambin], I think we bring in people this season who really make an impact on these characters and as we know them, and just really sort of shape their journey from here forward. I’m really excited for everybody to meet these characters and see what they bring, not only as incredible actors, but what they bring to our other characters, storylines, and just to the show in general.
Nerds and Beyond: Last question — if you had to sum up this season in one word, what word would you choose?
Max: One word… I think I would say… I feel like legacy is probably it.
Fire Country airs on Friday nights on CBS. You can also stream the episodes the next day on Paramount+.
