Fire Country’s Reduced Episode Count is a Blessing in Disguise

Fire Country is one of the two shows CBS has reduced to a shorter episode order for the upcoming season.

The show will produce 13 episodes, down from the regular 20 that have aired in past seasons.

While it’s sad that people’s livelihoods will be affected by this, this could also be the best thing to happen to the show and a move that potentially extends it for years.

Reverse the Decline

At this point, denying that Fire Country has declined both creatively and ratings-wise is delusional.

The show has turned into a repetitive, ridiculous storyline aimed at propping up the main character.

And as a result, every episode is a disappointing cascade of events you know will lead to the same place.

It positioned itself as a story about redemption. However, four seasons in, Fire Country has morphed into one about nepotism and the lack of accountability.

No matter what Bode does, every character and dialogue is reworked to shield him from the consequences of his actions.

Like many procedurals, Fire Country found itself in a precarious position after Fire Country Season 1.

The only two outcomes for Bode were that he would redeem himself or fail and return to prison.

But in the real sense, there was only one option: Bode working on himself and leaving prison. Otherwise, there should have been no reason to make the show.

But that is a very shallow premise to explore for over 20 episodes. It isn’t an outcome you can postpone for six seasons like many shows do.

The show did try to do that in the Fire Country Season 1 finale, and the blowback was swift because it operated like an unearned shortcut.

So the show morphed into Bode hero worship, giving him valiant moments that, you guessed it, he hadn’t earned.

That is not working.

Less Filler, More Progress

I don’t envy people who work on broadcast shows because it is an intense and demanding job.

But so are most jobs.

Churning out an episode every week for six months, only to take a short break and do it all over again the next season, is bound to cause even the best of stories to lose direction.

But a 13-episode count is manageable, and the biggest upside is that you don’t have to pad the narrative to meet runtime requirements.

And it’s not like this hasn’t been done. NCIS: Origins and Marshals have proven that you can tell a good story — even a better one — with fewer episodes.

Every minute is important real estate that either deepens character exploration or develops the general arc.

There is no reason for Bode to go around town saving people who are okay, or for everyone to argue during rescue missions.

It’s an opportunity to craft a really tight narrative, and right now, the show needs a firm stand on who Bode is.

Challenges and Accountability

Fire Country needs to hold him accountable without resorting to confusing logic that makes the viewer lose the plot as they’re forced to accept what they’re being told.

If the new showrunner wants to shake things up, let him bring in a new chief who will fix the chaos during rescues.

Let him force Bode to face the consequences of his actions instead of “Bode boy-ing” or Bode coyote-ing him like he’s some fragile piece of china.

This could be the season Fire Country bounces back and reclaims its past glory.

It would be such a shame if the show got canceled after spending the entire season pushing some guy to join an elite firefighting team when he’s barely a decent firefighter at his station.

Over to you, Fire Country Fanatics. What do you think of the reduced episode count?

Is it a good thing, or will a tighter narrative feel constraining and change the show?

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
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