Season 2 kicks off Friday, January 10, 2025 and will run for two consecutive cours. The series is animated by TOHO Animation and OLM, and directed by Norihiro Naganuma.
Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she’s sold as a lowly servant to the emperor’s palace. But she wasn’t meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she’s making a name for herself solving medical mysteries!
Maomao’s true lineage was revealed at the end of season 1, with some foul play targeting the handsome eunuch Jinshi in the rear palace being uncovered by the apothecary sleuth. What else looks beneath the beautiful imperial facade?
TOHO Animation/OLM
The Apothecary Diaries began as a light novel series, written by Natsu Hyuuga and illustrated by Touco Shino. Later, a manga adaptation from Nekokurage began serialization. Both are still ongoing. Season 1 covered the first two light novels in their entirety, with each cour covering a full novel. Both are available in print and digitally, with advanced chapters of the manga available on Square Enix’s app Manga UP!.
Season 1 of The Apothecary Diaries is available on Crunchyroll in subtitled and dubbed formats.
Tall Heights, an indie folk duo hailing from Boston, Massachusetts comprised of Tim Harrington (Guitar/vocals) and Paul Wright (Cello/vocals) were the openers for NEEDTOBREATHE’s Cave’s World Tour stop at History in Toronto, on October 19.
The duo had a great comradery with the audience, their easy humor and chatter keeping everyone smiling and laughing throughout their set. The blend of guitar/cello is an instrumental partnership that is widely known to be a golden pairing, and the blend of these two as a simple duo on stage did not require the backing of percussion to make it pop. Tim and Paul played a set covering their older albums as well as a new release from the album Softly, Softly, which had been released only the day prior. They even covered Blink-182’s “Dammit” as their second song.
They got a bit confident at the end and decided to unplug entirely to play their last song to the 2,500-capacity venue with no audio assistance. I appreciated the reason, but unfortunately, their voices/music did not make it to the back of the venue with much integrity, and I was left a bit wanting on that last track. Despite that one small hiccup, I was very impressed with Tall Heights and thought that they did a great job opening the show for the headliners.
NEEDTOBREATHE took to the stage with a burst of energy, starting their set off with “Great Night”, a perfect choice as an opening track lyrically [“Let’s have a great night, on the dancefloor” yes, let’s.] from the 2016 album HARDLOVE. The South Carolina quintet charged forward with a huge setlist that spanned their entire career, a career that has lasted 25 years and 9 studio albums (so far). They have a depth and breadth of music to choose from in their repertoire.
NEEDTOBREATHE is made up of 5 members: William ‘Bear’ Rinehart (Lead vocals/Guitar), Seth Bolt (Bass/vocals), Josh Lovelace (Piano/vocals), Randall Harris (Drums), and Tyler Burkum (Guitar/vocals). Often classified as Christian Rock, the band would prefer to be referenced within the larger generalized ‘Rock’ category. I would personally drop them somewhere within the Southern Rock lake – there is definitely something about their style that hangs on the side of the country (maybe it’s the cowboy hats). But no matter how you classify them, NEEDTOBREATHE was a force to be reckoned with on stage. Mid-set, they brought all 5 members to the front of the stage to play a batch of songs acoustically.
While I was personally slightly disappointed that “Testify” (one of my favorite songs), got the acoustic treatment, the vision of all 5 members front of stage was a real treat. The set charged on from there, including covers of the traditional folk song “House of the Rising Sun”, and Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me”, among a few other favorites, including “Who am I” and “Girl Named Tennessee”. Following a short break, they returned to the stage for their encore with a piano solo and jumped into “Brother”. This was the song that made me fall in love with this band originally, and the first song I heard by them. *Aside: Originally, I heard this song covered by Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) – not many better endorsements than having that actor sing your song to a room of people who are arguably some of the most committed/intense fans on earth. While I give Jensen the credit for introducing me to NEEDTOBREATHE, getting to hear it live from the band was a great moment in time, having waited to see them for several years.
Overall, NEEDTOBREATHE was a fantastic night out, and one I would recommend to anyone to see live given the opportunity. Their quality live was impeccable, Bear’s lead vocals a fantastic combination of raw and melodic quality. A high-energy show that had everyone dancing and singing along.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of CBS’ hit show Fire Country, since its explosive season 2 finale. Last Friday, October 18, the third season premiered, ready to answer some burning questions.
We got the chance to talk to Billy Burke, who plays Vince Leone on the show, all about the upcoming season.
Nerds and Beyond: Now that Bode is a free man, how do you see his and Vince’s relationship evolving this season?
Billy Burke: Well, I hope that it’s not easy. It’s not super smooth, but you start to get little glimpses of what it might have looked like had he never gone away and gone to prison.
Nerds and Beyond: I love the relationship between Vince and Sharon. What’s one of your favorite things about their relationship and working with Diane [Farr]?
Billy: Well, we’ve gotten really lucky from the get-go. We’d never met before we started doing this show, and I just feel like we got really lucky just with that combination of whatever it is that works so well. She’s really good at what she does, and I think that what she and I do together compliments each other real well. When it comes to the stuff that’s outside the emergency and incident stuff, the bulk of my family, as it were, is with her and it seems to be an unbreakable, infallible relationship that they have, which is pretty rare to see in real life, but even on television.
Nerds and Beyond: When I talked to Tia [Napolitano], she talked about how you have firefighter consultants. What kind of advice, if any, did they give you about playing a firefighter?
Billy: Jeff and Simon, lovely guys. We have two guys who are on set with us, and they sort of trade episodes back and forth, and they’re awesome. Mostly what they do is… I talk to them both all the time, because there are things when you know when we’re doing a certain procedure… everything’s dramatized. So you got to sort of fit the reality into the dramatization. So little tweaks and things like that, mostly, but when I talk to Jeff and Simon, we’re just laughing about sh*t. This is now my third or fourth firefighter gig. I’m not going to say that I could go out and professionally fight a fire, but I feel like I have a pretty good grip on what procedure is. I can’t speak for the rest of the cast, but with me, there’s never a lot of hard direction. It’s just, “Instead of that, just do this.”
Nerds and Beyond: What is one of your favorite characteristics of Vince’s?
Billy: Probably the most honorable or noble characteristics of Vince’s that I probably personally might struggle with, are the ones… he’s got that sort of innate, undying protector guy in him, which I didn’t grow up with and now have only really developed as a father. My daughter’s 16 years old now, and that’s been a real learning experience in terms of what that really means. I was the baby in the family. I had two older sisters, so I was kind of the one being protected. So, I consider that Vince’s biggest and best quality. And if he does it in stupid ways sometimes, he really does mean well in trying to look out for everybody in the community and everybody in his family.
Eric Milner/CBS
Nerds and Beyond: Is there an actor on the show that maybe you haven’t worked with as much that you’d like to?
Billy: That’s a good question. I would have to say, like most of the bulk of the work that I do on the show, when it comes to scenes that aren’t incidents, the bulk of those are with Diane. I’m doing the Vince and Sharon stuff, which is great, and it’s some of my favorite stuff to do. But I would have to say, everybody. I would love to have more scenes with all the other characters. I think the relationship between, I said this earlier on, the relationship between Vince and Manny, there’s a lot of places to go because they’re two struggling fathers. The relationship, obviously, between Vince and Jake, because he’s sort of a surrogate son, and the relationship between Vince and Eve because she’s sort of a surrogate daughter. And now Vince and Gabriela have some stuff this season because although she’s got her own father, he’s still got that protective instinct with her as well. Then, of course, I’d love to have now that he’s back out of prison, more scenes with Bode.
Nerds and Beyond: Last question — if you had one word to describe this upcoming season, what would you pick?
Billy: Surreal.
Fire Country airs Friday nights on CBS. You can catch up on episodes and watch them the next day on Paramount+!
Season 3 of CBS’ Fire Country premiered on Friday, October 18. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the new season to find out more about Gabriela’s story — as season 2 ended in the middle of her wedding to Diego.
Now, fans have seen the aftermath of Gabriela’s choices. We got the chance to talk to Stephanie Arcila about Gabriela’s journey, what to look forward to this season, and more.
Editor’s note: This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Nerds and Beyond: Jumping right in, we see in the premiere everything that happens in the aftermath of the wedding: Gabriela talking to Diego, and everything with Bode. Can you share anything about what Gabriela’s journey will be like this season?
Stephanie Arcila: I think fans are gonna be shocked because it’s the most different. They’ll probably see Gabriela in the best way, in my opinion, because she’s not perfect… they’re gonna see her flaws. They’re gonna see her fall. They’re gonna see her get back up emotionally after whatever she’s going through, and she’s going to be challenged to face everything she hasn’t faced in the past two seasons. How she just buries herself in her work, and this time, she can’t do that. So, it’s going to be a very emotionally aggressive journey.
Nerds and Beyond: I love the relationship between Manny and Gabriela, and obviously Manny is going through some tough times. What’s one of your favorite things about their relationship and working with Kevin [Alejandro]?
Stephanie: One of my favorite things about their relationship is that they know that family is first for them and that they know that they are all they have. So despite the things that they go through, the ups and downs, they always find a way to come back to each other.
Working with Kevin is a dream. He’s such a generous actor. He will always give you 150% even when the camera is not on him. He is, I’ve said this before, such a well of wisdom, and is always so willing to pour into me and teach me. So he’s become like a mentor to me. It’s been beautiful, and I’m currently shadowing him as a director, so I’m learning so much more already from him, and I’m just grateful. We have a blast. We’re just two big kids when we’re together.
Nerds and Beyond: You just mentioned you’re shadowing him — does this mean you have plans to direct Fire Country?
Stephanie: That would be incredible if that opportunity is presented. For now, I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to learn. People spend so much money learning these things and go to universities and everything, and they’ve given me a gift to be able to do that at work while working. So I’m really, really grateful for that, and the time that Kevin has put into teaching me as well.
Nerds and Beyond: What’s been one of the most challenging parts about playing a firefighter or paramedic?
Stephanie: It’s fun because I’m really competitive with myself, but for me, the physical aspect is very, very physically demanding. I can’t even imagine what these firefighters do in real life. It’s so admirable and inspiring because just at work, carrying the gear that we carry and going out the trenches, through the mud and through the dirt and the snow… and these firefighters do this for 48 hours straight sometimes and more. So it’s just been the physical aspect of it, which has been the biggest challenge.
And, finding the waves of it all, the emotion. I think, as actors, we always love to challenge ourselves and grow and figure it out. So it’s just a never-ending learning experience. But definitely, I upped my game on weights on this show. In weight training, to be able to do everything we do, you have to challenge yourself outside of work to be able to be strong and do it.
Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Nerds and Beyond: All the gear that you have on, is that heavy to carry too?
Stephanie: Yeah, it’s real. People think we have TV stuff on… or I was talking to one of our fire techs, Jeff Snider, the other day, and I was like, “Yeah, just our turnout gear on its own weighs like 20 pounds, right?” And he came back the next day and he was like, “No Steph, it’s like 25 to 30 pounds that you have on.” That’s without our tanks. So when we wear our tanks, it’s a lot heavier. It’s the real deal. I respect firefighters so much and beyond.
Nerds and Beyond: What’s one of your favorite characteristics of Gabriela’s?
Stephanie: One of my favorite characteristics is also, at the same time, my least favorite if that makes sense in both ways. You can see it in both ways, right? I think one of my favorite characteristics is that she is a go-getter, nonstop, never quits, never stops, right? She will figure out a way, and she will do it. But I also think that in life, it’s healthy to stop and to just sit. It’s okay. Quitting is not always a bad thing, depending on what it is, and it goes hand in hand with our boundaries because that dynamic of consistently going and never quitting falls into our relationships as well, right? And to so many other things. And that’s why we stay in relationships longer than we should because we have this mentality of like, go, go, go, go, go, don’t quit. You gotta go. You gotta figure it out, no matter what, you gotta figure it out to make it work.
Nerds and Beyond: Is there an actor that you haven’t gotten to work with as much that you’d like to in the future?
Stephanie: I got along with Jared Padalecki, it was so much fun having him on set, and I didn’t have that many scenes with him. So, I would love to have more scenes with him.
Nerds and Beyond: What are you most looking forward to fans seeing this season?
Stephanie: My character this season has had its most raw moment and most vulnerable moments. I think people are going to be able to kind of see a mirror of life and things that they’ve been through, and see the humanization of these characters not consistently being heroes, seeing their flaws, and I think that’s what I’m most excited about. There’s a beauty in our flaws and in the messiness of life that ends up bringing out so much grace and growth, like lilies, right? They come out of mud and bloom into these beautiful flowers. So, I think that’s going to be my favorite part.
Nerds and Beyond: Is there anything that you have learned from one of your past roles that you’ve taken with you onto Fire Country?
Stephanie: Oh, that’s a good question. I have to think about it, because Fire Country is probably the furthest away of anything I’ve ever done… so different from anything I’ve ever done in the past. I think, maybe just being in my body, the physical aspects of it. I did a show called Penny Dreadful:City of Angels a while back, and there was so much physicality. It’s so different from Fire Country, but there was such a need to be in your body, and as a firefighter, you need that as well, right? And muscle memory of how to do things and everything. So, I think probably if I were to give you a quick answer, that would be it.
Nerds and Beyond: Last question — if you had one word to describe the upcoming season, what word would you choose?
Stephanie: Ah, one word… that’s two words that I was gonna say.
Nerds and Beyond: Two words can count, too!
Stephanie: I think it would be perfectly imperfect.
Fire Country airs on Friday nights on CBS. You can rewatch episodes and catch up the next day on Paramount+.
It’s October in New York and that means New York Comic Con is here! Members of our staff were lucky enough to talk to some of the cast from Outlander about the upcoming season 7, part 2.
Editor’s note: this interview contains spoilers for Outlander. This interview was also edited for length and clarity.
The last time we saw Jamie, Claire, Roger, Briana, and Ian, they were scattered across time and place either returning home to Scotland to return to Lallybroch, or heading back to the 1700s in search of Jemmy, Briana, and Roger’s son who was kidnapped from the 1970s and thrown back in time. The last scene was Claire and Jamie on a ship with the Scottish coastline in view, a welcome scene after almost 4 seasons being away from their beloved home country.
Nerds and Beyond: With the show having wrapped up for the entire series, what is a memory off-set that you think will always stick with you?
Richard Rankin: I think one of my favorite memories, in recent times anyway, was when we all went to Edinburgh to the Taylor Swift concert. That was quite a night. That was a blast. And, yeah, lots of funny stories from that night that I probably won’t go into, but that was a good time.
Sam Heughan: I think honestly, there’s a bit of bittersweetness of us even being here this week. It’s like we’ve got into this cycle over 11 years, or eight years, of shooting a show for a season and then going and doing the promo and the press. It’s the time when we have a great time and we mess around and we get to just hang out and we’re realizing being here that this is probably our last, or penultimate, [New York] Comic Con together, and it will feel very different next time. It’s like, “Oh sh*t, it’s fun to hang out and have all those experiences and will that happen again? Will I get on another show or another movie that has that cycle?” I don’t think you will, because will you be in a show that even runs that long again?
Nerds and Beyond: With the show wrapping up, I know we still have the second half of season seven and season eight next year, but is there anything from set that you guys maybe permanently borrowed?
Sophie Skelton: That’s such a good way of phrasing it. [laughs]
John Bell: Well, we were kind of sniffing around a couple things, right? And then when the bosses heard of that, it was like, locked down. Yeah, it’s like, nothing’s going, so there might have been some Mohawk warrior skills involved in finding some things to take. I hope I don’t get anyone in any trouble saying this, but I do have my bow and arrows. I’m kind of building a bit of an armory in my house. I’ve got my arrow from The Hobbit and I’ve got my Tomahawk from Outlander. So it’s gonna look like one of those castle walls in Scotland with all the armory on the wall.
SophieSkelton: This season I was practicing in the armory, and they had kind of noted that Briana doesn’t have her own gun. So he [the armorer] was like, “Should we give Briana a gun?” So I’ve been using that this season. The armorer wanted me to have it at the end [of the show]. But production got wind of everyone trying to sneak stuff and then they did the lockdown. So, the next time I went to the armory, he [the armorer] was like, “JB (John Bell), got away with it. He got his out in time.” I was like, “Oh, man, I kind of want everyone to sign my rifle.” To be fair though, once we got wind of reshoots, I was really glad I didn’t steal the rifle.
Nerds and Beyond: Caitríona, it was mentioned that there’s a Lord John storyline coming up and I don’t want to ask about that, because I know you can’t give any spoilers, but how was it filming with David Berry again?
Caitriona: It was amazing filming with David. That storyline is intense and it wasn’t easy stuff but working with David was great. I can’t say much because yeah, spoilers. Yeah, he was amazing. He’s so good though.
Enjoy the gallery of the cast during the Outlander panel at New York Comic Con and catch Outlander Season 7 Part 2 on November 22nd on Starz.
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.
Eric Milner/CBS
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+.
Paramount+ released a new clip from the upcoming new season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds! Plus, they also revealed that Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death) will guest star in the upcoming season.
The new season of Strange New Worlds is set to premiere in 2025 and has already been renewed for a fourth season.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun and Martin Quinn, along with special guest stars Paul Wesley and Carol Kane.
Paramount+ has released a new poster and clip for Star Trek: Lower Decks at New York Comic Con today!
During NYCC, the clip was played as voice cast members Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells and Eugene Cordero, alongside executive producer and showrunner Mike McMahan were onstage.
Brand new final season art was also released, which pays homage to the Star Trek V: The Final Frontier movie poster.
Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ final season — season 5 — is set to premiere with two episodes on October 24 on Paramount+. New episodes of the 10-episode-long season will be released every Thursday up until the series finale on Thursday, December 19.
Fire Country‘s third season premiered last night, and fans have been eagerly awaiting to find out what happens after the season 2 finale.
We got the chance to talk to the showrunner and executive producer of Fire Country, Tia Napolitano, all about the premiere, what to look forward to in the rest of the season, as well as the addition of Jared Padalecki.
Fire Country is now streaming on Paramount+, so make sure to catch up if you haven’t watched yet!
Editor’s note: this interview contains spoilers for the season 3 premiere. The 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 season now that he’s not tethered to Three Rock?
Tia Napolitano: It changes everything. Season 3 really is wish fulfillment. We’ve wanted this for him since the pilot. We meet him in a parole hearing, hoping to walk free, and he doesn’t, for many, many episodes of television. He gets to step back into his childhood home that he had left before all of this trouble, and it feels fresh and exciting and light and happy, and really, there’s a lot of fan candy. Pure wish fulfillment and joy and a lot of drama and action too, but happiness.
Nerds and Beyond: Bode has had a pretty rocky relationship with his parents, especially with Vince. Are we going to exploremore what that means for them with him free as well?
Tia: We’ll explore more of what that means and more of what Bode says in the season 2 finale. He’s ready to claim his legacy, and we’ve got multi-generational firefighters in the Leone family and some generational dynamics that could probably use some improvements. So I think getting Bode’s goals comes with facing what’s hard about his relationship with his family and his father and his legacy as well.
Nerds and Beyond: This episode also dives right into what happens with the wedding. We see Gabriela admit that she felt more with Bode than she did at her wedding with Diego. What can fans of Bode and Gabriela look forward to this season?
Tia: Good news is Bode and Gabriela have always been a non-couple couple, meaning they’ve been apart. They’ve never made it official. He’s always been incarcerated [during] the times when they have been together, especially physically, [and] often they’ve been breaking rules. So that’s a little bit of how we’ve always had them. So I think that will feel familiar and now, they can maybe live out loud a little bit, and share a burger at the same table in a restaurant. It is going to feel really new. So even I think baby steps will feel huge. And if they are kept apart a little bit, we will still have that longing.
Nerds and Beyond: I know a lot of people want to know what’s going to happen next with Manny, who has had a pretty tough time. Is there anything you can share about what his journey will look like this season?
Tia: We’re not going to skip any steps with Manny. We’re not going to jump time. We’re going to be with him every step of the way. Obviously, there are consequences for him having punched Luke, we’ve seen him be arrested for that. Our stomach’s going to hurt right along with Manny, wondering, how’s this going to go? What’s next for me? What were the consequences going to be? Will this thing go away?
Nerds and Beyond: Was there anything you took away from your previous work, like on Station 19, that you brought to Fire Country?
Tia: Everything. On Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19… I think all of that. Grey’s Anatomy taught me so much about soap that I was able to bring here. Station 19 taught me a lot of things, also. But, producing an action show, a fire show, is very different than producing a hospital show, balancing the soap with the action and finding that dial. I think Fire Country is a lot more action than Station 19, but Station 19 prepared me to be up for that action challenge.
Nerds and Beyond: It was announced that Jared Padalecki would be joining the show for a three-episode arc. Can you talk a little bit more about him joining, and anything about his character (Camden Casey)?
Tia: I think we released he’s a maverick, and he’s a captain, so he’s got a little bit of status in Cal Fire. He’s a lot like Bode, and I think Bode currently, prior to Casey joining the show, was surrounded by people telling him to play it safe, color within lines, stop going rogue. Casey is going to encourage Bode to lean into those instincts. He’s the first one to say, “Maybe it’s not a bad thing that you’re the first guy to run into a fire. Maybe that’s your superpower,” in a way that’ll be really exciting. The role was designed for Jared. We were so hoping that he would come join us. He and Max are friends in real life, which was secondary to us being so excited about him, and their chemistry is great. He’s the kindest, most professional, talented person. And he said yes, luckily. We wrote this part for him, and he was happy to come play with us. So it was a lot of fun with that.
Nerds and Beyond: Are there any inspirations that you draw from, like, regarding any of the fires of the storyline specifically? Do you have consultants that say, “Don’t do this,” or “You can do this?”
Tia: Writing on Grey’s Anatomy, I learned how to write for a profession that I did not do. I was never a surgeon. I learned how to talk to doctors, read articles, get into the research. And that experience really applied to Station 19 and to this show where I was like, “Okay, I’m not a firefighter, but I know how to talk to them… and keep the authenticity. Authenticity is super important to us, especially to Max.
We have many consultants. They are all wonderful. Two of them, many of them, help us with scripts and the ideas. Two of them are on the ground making sure our firefighters know how to hold tools, how to approach someone. We literally have meetings just about fire medical rescue to let our actors feel confident. They look like badasses. They look like firefighters. So the more authenticity, the better. And yeah, they have to tell us no all the time. It breaks your heart.
Eric Milner/CBS
Nerds and Beyond: From the past few seasons, what has been one of your favorite storylines?
Tia: I would say the evolution of Jake, like watching this Playboy become a dad. Prior to that, fall in love with a woman when he was so the guy who couldn’t commit when we met him. A lot of the Gabriella/Manny… learning about that relationship that I think is so fun and it’s a really interesting two-person family that I love to watch and check in with and see evolve over the episodes as well.
Nerds and Beyond: Without spoiling too much, is there an episode or moment that you’re most excited for fans to see this season?
Tia: Excited for them to see Jared on screen, our mid-season finale and premiere. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s got a lot of nature, and we’re going to get into deep backstory for one of our characters in a completely new way. I think it’s going to be visually beautiful. It’s got so much heart. So I’m really excited about that.
Fire Country airs Friday nights on CBS. You can also stream it on Paramount+. Read our review of the premiere episode, here.
Crunchyroll had a night full of announcements at New York Comic Con during the Crunchyroll Industry Panel.
OKITSURA: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Saying
Teruaki Nakamura recently transferred to school in Okinawa from Tokyo and fell in love with a girl. Unfortunately, he can’t understand her dialect! With the help of his new friend Higa-san, Nakamura will experience a cross-cultural romance on the southern island.
Based on the manga The Dialect of the Girl I Fell in Love With in Okinawa is Too Difficult to Deal With created by Egumi Sora, the coming-of-age romance will premiere in January 2025. The series is written and directed by Shin Itagaki and Shingo Tanabe with animation by studio Millepensee.
Go For It, Nakamura-kun!
Nakamura is a shy boy who falls in love at first sight with one of his classmates–his dreamy high school classmate, Hirose. But there’s a problem: they haven’t met yet. And Nakamura is a total klutz who might bungle things before they even begin!
From the Syundei-penned the manga of the same name, Drive animates the series directed and written by Aoi Umeki. The series will debut some time in 2025.
I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic
While innocently enjoying himself after work, one man’s life changes forever. He wakes in the body of Liam Hamilton, the youngest son of a noble house on the brink of collapse. Amid the chaos, Liam realizes he finally has time to learn and practice magic. Once he begins, it takes his life for an even bigger turn. Can Liam master magic and save his noble family? The aristocratic fantasy begins!
What began as a light novel written by Nazuna Miki with illustrations Kabocha, then became a manga illustrated by RioAkisaki, and now, it’s getting an anime adaptation from Studio DEEN and Marvy Jack. The series is directed by KenichiIshikura with the series composition written by TatsuyaTakahashi.
ZENSHU
After graduating from high school, Natsuko Hirose starts her career as an animator. Her talent quickly flourishes, and she makes her debut as a director in no time. Her first anime becomes a massive hit, sparking a social phenomenon and earning her recognition as an up-and-coming genius director. Her next project is set to be a romantic comedy movie themed around first love! However, having never been in love herself, Natsuko struggles to understand the concept of first love, and as a result, she’s unable to create the storyboard, causing the movie production to come to a standstill.
A brand new trailer for the MAPPA-animated ZENSHU debuted at the panel. The series directed by Mitsue Yamazakiwith a script written by KimikoUeno will premiere January 2025.
Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE
Several thousand years after a mysterious phenomenon that turns all of humanity to stone, the extraordinarily intelligent, science-driven boy, Senku Ishigami, awakens. Facing a world of stone and the total collapse of civilization, Senku makes up his mind to use science to rebuild the world. Starting with his super strong childhood friend Taiju Oki, who awakened at the same time, they will begin to rebuild civilization from nothing… Depicting two million years of scientific history from the Stone Age to present day, the unprecedented crafting adventure story is about to begin!
The final season will debut January 2025. Animated by TMS Entertainment and directed by ShuheiMatsushita, the audience got a preview of the first cour. The series based on the manga written by RiichiroInagaki. and illustrated by Boichi.
HIGH CARD season 2 might have ended, but a special episode is on the way. HIGH CARD Special Episode “THE FLOWERS BLOOM” is coming to Crunchyroll November 5.
After discovering X-Playing Cards, powerful cards that grant powers, pickpocket Finn is recruited by High Card, a secret group sworn to protect and collect them. This deck has been scattered throughout the kingdom of Fourland. Moonlighting at luxury carmaker Pinochle, this squad’s set out to play the most dangerous game of 52 pickup. But they gotta get them before rival carmaker Who’s Who!
Gamers also got a taste of some content coming their way with two new Crunchyroll Game Vault titles.
PSYCHO-PASS: Mandatory Happiness Synopsis: In a world where psychological states can be quantified, every choice has consequences. Can detectives Nadeshiko Kugatachi and Takuma Tsurugi remain on the path of justice as they face the ugly truths of humanity? Launching this October.
Moonstone Island Synopsis: A creature-collecting life-sim set in an open world with 100 islands to explore. Make friends, brew potions, collect Spirits, and test your strength in card-based encounters to complete your Alchemy training! Launching this November.
An exclusive look at My Hero Academia: Battleground by Gamefam Studios, the first official anime game on Roblox, was also revealed.
Izuku has dreamt of being a hero all his life—a lofty goal for anyone, but especially challenging for a kid with no superpowers. That’s right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some kind of super-powered “quirk,” Izuku was unlucky enough to be born completely normal. But that’s not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the world’s most prestigious hero academies.
According to Crunchyroll, “players will be able to explore iconic environments, battle as their favorite characters, and go beyond – Plus Ultra! – in this action-packed adventure inspired by the hit anime series.” The game has no set release date, but is coming soon.
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