Fire Country went through several surprising cast changes — and demotions — ahead of season 4, but which characters are returning to the show?
The CBS series, which premiered in 2022, follows inmate Bode (Max Thieriot) as he attempts to shorten his prison sentence by volunteering for the California Conservation Camp Program. After being assigned to his hometown, he reconnected with his family and former friends and continued to make attempts to redeem himself.
By the third season, Bode was out of prison and determined to prove himself at Cal Fire. The world of Edgewater also continued to grow, with a Sheriff Country spinoff centered around Sharon’s (Diane Farr) sister Mickey (Morena Baccarin) and a possible second offshoot with Jared Padalecki‘s character, Camden Casey, which is still in consideration.
The drama hasn’t remained just on screen though. During the two-part finale season 3 finale, which aired in April 2025, three characters’ lives were left up in the air. But the bigger surprise came after Deadline reported that alleged budget cuts led to Stephanie Arcila exiting the show after three seasons.
Arcila is expected to potentially return as a guest star in the future, while Billy Burke is stepping down with Vince seemingly being the casualty in the finale explosion.
Fire Country‘s spinoff, Sheriff Country, hasn’t even premiered yet but there’s already questions about which characters will make crossover appearances. Fans were originally introduced to the town of Edgewater when Fire Country premiered with inmate Bode (Max Thieriot) returning home and volunteering for the California Conservation Camp Program during season 1 of the hit show. […]
Keep scrolling to see which characters are officially returning in season 4 — and which might not:
Bode Leone
In addition to starring on the show as Bode, Thieriot is an executive producer, director and is involved in each Fire Country spinoff.
“I think there’s still a lot of room to explore. There’s more room to explore in Edgewater and outside of Edgewater,” Thieriot teased to Us Weekly exclusively in May 2024. “When I started, I was always putting the cart before the horse. In my head, I had probably at least three other versions outside of Fire Country. Whether any of those ever see the light of day — we’ll see. But I certainly have at least a couple more ideas for this world.”
Manny Perez
Season 3 followed Manny (Kevin Alejandro) at Three Rock after an arrest led to his reincarceration. Manny was out by the time the season came to an end and will likely continue to focus on his redemption.
Jake Crawford
Before the finale, Jake’s (Jordan Calloway) future at Cal Fire remained unclear. He wanted to know he could move on up and lead the department while Vince (Burke) made it clear there were no immediate openings. Jake chose to accept a captain job elsewhere, but if Vince is getting killed off then the math is adding up to Jake getting the position he was gunning for in Edgewater.
Gabriela Perez
According to showrunner Tia Napolitano, it “wasn’t decided earlier in the season” that Gabriela’s arc was over. “It was during discussions about finding the end of the season,” she told Deadline in April 2025. “We spoke to Stephanie while we were shooting the finale.”
The door is open for Arcila to come back as a guest star.
Eve Edwards
While Eve (Jules Latimer) was still alive when season 3 wrapped up, executive producer Tony Phelan told Deadline that a cast change would allow for more intrigue.
“Also, going into season 4, you don’t want the audience to ever feel complacent, to feel like they know exactly what they’re gonna get, and it’s gonna be the same thing that they’ve gotten,” he noted in April 2025. “You want to create lean-in moments where the real stakes of what’s involved with what these heroes do is always there. So the audience never knows what’s coming next.”
Fire Country has had complex character connections since its premiere in 2022 — and with every season comes new entanglements. There’s been many complicated love triangles, including season 1’s Bode Donovan (Max Thieriot) falling for his high best friend Jake Crawford’s (Jordan Calloway) ex-girlfriend Gabriella Perez (Stephanie Arcila). However, it’s the characters who are related […]
Sharon Leone
Bode’s mother (Diane Farr) was one of the three potential casualties of the fire at the memory care facility. The Fire Country writing team is determined not to reveal who could die before season 4 returns to CBS in fall 2025.
“We are not going to confirm who we’re losing,” Napolitano told Deadline. “There will definitely be a devastating loss for everyone that remains in our family. No, shooting the finale, none of the actors knew.”
Vince Leone
Speaking of not confirming or denying exits, Burke was the second cast member that Deadline confirmed was not coming back. The outlet reported that there were budget conversations happening earlier on in season 3, and as a result cast members were asked to cut their episode count to save money. The series regulars came together and refused so the scenes remained as is — until it came time to plan the season 4 budget.
“It really just comes down to what’s the best creatively. There’s a lot of stuff going on that we as producers juggle, but honestly, we are writers first and foremost and storytellers,” Rater told Deadline in response to a question about budget cuts affecting the season 4 cast. “And we struggle with these stories, we wrestle them to the ground, we consider them from six different angles. We don’t do anything lightly, we talk, we talk, we talk. And then we just have to go with our gut about what makes the most compelling story, and we are really trying to write authentic stories that examine what these heroes deal with and go through. So that’s where we’re coming from at all times.”
Burke’s character, Vince, is expected to be one of the deaths on the show after the actor was cast in a guest star role on Peacock’s upcoming M.I.A. series.
Audrey James
While Gabriela is no longer around, Bode’s current girlfriend (played by Leven Rambin) ended the season at risk. Audrey helped Gabriela face off with her stalker but Finn (Blake Lee) subsequently got shot and Audrey was the one holding the gun. Rambin only joined the show in season 3 but she likely will remain going into the fourth installment of Fire Country.
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