When a new series premieres, most of the time, it will get a shorter episode count to start. That’s even the case for fall shows, with the option to extend the season if it performs well at the start of the year. CBS is making a change when it comes to Sheriff Country.
Sheriff Country is the Fire Country spinoff that has been in the works for a couple of years now. It was picked up to series back in 2023, but held for the 2025-2026 TV season. Part of this was due to Matlock being delayed by a year due to the dual strike actions changing up the network schedules, but another part was to ensure quality. One thing that was clear was that it was likely to be a success.
Sheriff Country will get a 20-episode season
When speaking with TVLine about filming the series, Morena Baccarin shared that Sheriff Country will get 20 episodes in its first season. We can assume that that will also be the episode count for Fire Country season 4, as the two shows air back-to-back on Friday nights.
She did share some nerves about this decision, as it’s been some time since she did any network TV. Her last network TV role was in NBC’s shortlived The Endgame, but she did star in FOX’s Gotham, where she met her now-husband Ben McKenzie.
“I haven’t done network TV in a while because… the 20-episode thing is really tough on everybody, but I’m cautiously optimistic. I’m really excited about the series. It’s a great premise. It’s a great character. I really, truly love the people that I’m working with who are creating the show. Brockheimer TV has been incredible in the process, and it’s been smooth sailing.”
While there are some nerves, she is also cautiously optimistic. That is part in that she’s excited for the series as a whole, due to the people working on it and the character that she gets to play.
Baccarin is Mickey Fox, who was introduced in Fire Country season 2. She’s the stepsister of Sharon Leone, and she quickly shared her thoughts about her upbringing of Bode. It turned out that she needed to look inward, though, as her daughter has also turned to drugs, and now she realizes that she’s dealing with the same situation Sharon was once in.
Don’t expect too many crossover events between the Country franchise
While the two shows are set in the same universe and have connected before, don’t expect there to be many crossovers between Fire and Sheriff. The filming locations are going to be completely different, which is going to be interesting when it comes to the two shows supposedly in the same area.
Due to Baccarin living in New York and knowing a long distance would break her family, she made it clear that the series would have to find some way of dealing with that if they wanted her. This was a risk in negotiating, but it paid off, and Sheriff Country’s filming was moved to Toronto, Ontario rather than Vancouver, BC.
There will be the odd crossover moments, such as in the first episode when Diane Farr will cameo as Sharon. Other than that, we’re not expecting too much.
Sheriff Country will premiere on Friday, Oct. 17 at 9/8c on CBS before moving to 8/7c on Fridays afterward.
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