User reviews

Well this show won't win any Emmys, and as many other reviews note, it's usually an unrealistic melodrama. So... its clearly not for everybody.

But,if you can overlook all that, and if you (like me) hated to see Thieriot leave Seal Team, and wanted him to play that exact, same character somewhere else, then your wish was granted.

I'll hang with it for awhile, cause it can be fun & entertaining. Also, it's predictable enough so it will be easy to catch up with, even if ya miss an episode or so.

I catch up while on my exercise bike. It does help distract me from the grind. Rather watch this than the news!

Many of the characters are good but are pulled down by the horrible acting of a few. Stephanie Arcila and Jules Latimer make some of the scenes boring and just plan bad. Their characters should be strong but they are weak. Latimer tries to hard to be a seasoned fire fighter and comes off whiny. Arcila just comes off completely unbelievable. I hope the show survives because Max Thieriot and Kevin Alejandro are fantastic and totally believable. The premise of the show is a worthy one. Please get rid of the week actors so this show has a chance to survive. It is important to show what firefighters go through.

The overall plots are not bad. A little corny at times. However, there is way too much dialogue during active fire scenes. No putting out fires, just discussing the current events of that episode. There is also no sense of urgency when they are on a fire. Let's leave the story substance for the "down times" when there is not a fire. The overall theme and concept the show is good. Hashing out the daily drama during an emergency situation is not even close to realistic. I would hate to see this show end because they can't get this part right. Character development is good and the acting is good.

I'm not sure why one can't employ a technical advisor for stuff like this. As a veteran firefighter/EMT/Training Officer this is pretty ugly. Hose stream patterns, use of SCBA, K-mart aluminum ladders, the list is too long to put here. If you don't care about accuracy, reality, or logic and are just into a bunch of personal relationship drama you might be ok with it. For anyone with a touch of science understanding, or anyone who has actually worked this kind of work, it is a disgrace. Accurate for this trade/profession? No, not even close. Hire someone who understands the scope of this work. It would make a much better show.

I love this show! The other reviewers who talk about it not being "realistic" I guess never watch anything except documentaries and the news. I can't speak for how realistic it is, but I don't care. It's entertaining and that's why I watch t.v. I don't watch television because it's realistic. It has drama, eye candy and keeps my attention. That is ultimately what makes good television. Sure, it has its slow parts, but what doesn't? At the end of the day, I look forward to watching every week and it is a refreshing change from the many superhero shows out there. I recommend giving it a watch!!!

The actors are good but the way they fight fires is NOT accurate and you don't need to be a firefighter to notice that.

They talk while the fire gets everywhere, they are so slow. The way the rescue people doesn't make sense. You can literally see how they can release someone traped but they do some weird rescue that doesn't make sense at all. The ambulances are coming so late.

Also going to a house in fire without any mask and long hair out, we've seen in many fire fighters show that this is not how it works.

Besides that, someone with kidney disease drinks beer is the weirdest scene for me.

Casting error : Manny looks too young to be Gabriela's father. He's 48, she's 34 in real life! It's not plausible for me.

So I like the actors because they are good but the screenwriting should be really improved and collaborate with real fire fighters to write more accurate stories. Also about the other stories, the guy leaves when his sister is dead but he's in prison for 4y for trying to rob someone and he changes his name while there. The stories accuracy is like a soap, real telenovela but the actors are good so they make the inaccurate more credible with their good acting. They deserve better.

Bode is the punching bag for this show. Despite that he is the most caring and heroic individual on the show, he is a prime example that no good deed goes unpunished. And, that is reflected in the way his fellow inmates get treated, also. However, the story lines keep you rooting for good things to develop especially in the intense relationship between Bode and Gabrielle. Her moving on with a new relationship before she fully understood Bode's compassionate predicament was kind of a betrayal and painful to watch. Yet, the potential for exciting action and story lines that have the ending you can root for makes the show well worth watching in hopes that disappointments go away.

The show is decent enough don't get me wrong. Max is definitely the best aspect of the entire show so give credit where credit is due. But it really is nothing more than a soap opera for adults. The story line is ok and hopefully it will get better as things move forward. I will say some of the characters (actors) are absolutely terrible though. So bad in fact I have to fast forward while they are on screen. Kinda cringe at times no question about it. They simply are not believable and it kills the vibe of the show. Then the cgi of the fires is complete garbage. You would think they could step things up a few notches and get better cgi but nope.... Kinda cheesy. For all you Max fans this is definitely NOT Seal Team so you can't go into it expecting to watch Clay. That's probably why I have criticism about the show. Again the show is decent enough to watch but it could be sooo much better if they did some tweaking. Give it a try and the worse you could do is change the channel..

Is it realistic? Probably not. Do I care? No. If I want to watch something real I watch documentaries. If you want to watch something realistic about convicts doing dangerous jobs and an underdog getting redeemed watch "The Wild Horse Redemption." If you want to watch a show with action, drama, and romance then this show is great. I like that the lead character is a broody bad boy out to redeem himself. I like that the show has a lot of potential with story lines. I like that it's drawing attention to wild fire firefighters. It's a dangerous job and I'm sure you can find some firefighters out there with crazy stories that are even more dramatic than the show, but they probably had a lot of boring moments too. I personally found the show entertaining and easy to watch. The characters are likable and I'm excited to see what comes next. If you want realistic go be a firefighter we could always use more. If you want to be entertained watch this show.

Hollywood writers seem to follow the same path. They begin a good show with lots of interesting action, but always veer off into fluff and silly dram to fill up time. A good story line with an original and little covered subject, wildland firefighting. A huge untapped potential, but ruined by the high school level melodramatic dialogue.

Viewers tune in for the fire action, not the silly high school drama. Stick to the fires. Do that and it'll run 12 seasons easy.

Keep dragging the show down with silly drama and soap opera dialog and one season tops. Writers please stick to the format that began with episode one.

It was damn thrilling, watching CBS's new show, "Fire Country," and completely surreal. Having spent 31 years working for CAL FIRE, it was a trip watching scenes that depicted eerily similar experiences to my own. But it was a good trip! Mostly. There were definitely one or two cringe worthy moments though.

I'm a huge fan of cop and firefighter shows - my favs are NBC's "Chicago Fire," ABC's "The Rookie," and CBS's "Blue Bloods." And I've watched each one from the get-go. But Fire Country is its own animal and that's a huge plus. The wildland fire element and the diverse types of job opportunities within CAL FIRE give it a lane of its own. I'm looking forward to seeing if the writers are able to expand the show's elements without complicating it. It might be hard to do. CAL FIRE has a Helitack (Helicopter) program, Air Attack (Air Tanker), Law Enforcement/Fire Prevention, Communications/PR and the Camp Program of course. Even the Command Centers (dispatch) have captains - uniformed men and women who came from field positions. This could create some cool opportunities for the creators and writers as the show moves forward.

I'm also a huge fan of Jerry Bruckheimer, one of "Fire Country's" Executive Producers. I was really excited to see he was involved with this project. So many of his TV shows, the "CSI" trio to "Cold Case," and movies, "Flashdance" to "Top Gun Maverick" are favorites of mine; favorites of millions of people. Not much that he puts his prints on goes south.

Want to hear a cool piece of synchronicity: Bruckheimer's original "Top Gun" movie had a serious following with a lot of us in CAL FIRE, maybe in the whole fire service, I'm not sure. For years in the late 80's and 90's we'd walk around quoting lines from the movie to each other. "Just a walk in the park Kazansky," when one of our friends was headed in for an important promotional interview; or "Talk to me Goose" when we were trying to get a pal to talk about something difficult; or one I used more than once, "Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash." That's a line his boss could have used on Bode Donovan, a lead character in "Fire Country" played well by Max Thieriot (SEAL Team) when he took off with a chainsaw, against direct orders, to save his buddies on the fire line. It looked cool and heroic on TV, but it's likely he would have been rolled up (sent back to prison) for that in real life.

The first episode begins with an introduction to Bode, an inmate in a California prison, as he is making his case for parole. When his request is denied, his attorney suggests he volunteer for the California Conservation Camp Program and become a member of a Fire Crew. The Camp Program is a real-life joint program between CAL FIRE and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Their inmate Fire Crews are an integral part of CAL FIRE's suppression capabilities.

A fellow inmate, Freddy (W. Tré Davis does a great job with this character) explains the advantages of this Fire Crew opportunity to Bode as they share the bus ride with other inmates to their new home, Three Rock Camp, in Northern California. Freddy is a crack up. He's the much-needed comic relief in a high drama show and the things he does and says are authentic. The 'bear episode' while the Fire Crew is out training is hilarious and spot on!

As the episode unfolds, we quickly learn that Three Rock Camp is not the location Bode was promised. The Camp is near the town of Edgewater, a fictional northern California town. It also turns out to be Bode's hometown and the last place on earth he wanted to go. The reasons why begin to surface as the story moves forward.

In Edgewater, we're introduced to the local CAL FIRE Battalion Chief (BC), Vince Leone, played by Billy Burke (Remember Bella's dad in the "Twilight" movies?). He is one crusty dude and was immediately my favorite character: saying exactly what needs saying with little regard for the rank of the chiefs he's talking to. Even if that chief who outranks him is his wife, Sharon, played by Diane Farr (the cool FBI agent from "Numb3rs") and my second favorite character. Diane portrays the part well and I'm looking forward to seeing how they develop her character; how close to home it hits.

I actually worked with a couple of "fire gods" like Vince during my career. I sought them out to work for and learn from, eventually becoming like them. And, like Vince, not always to my advantage. But his character personifies the best of the best kind of Battalion Chief. You can see that he takes care of his people first and answers to management second. Two thumbs up to the creators for that character development.

Speaking of which, when you see the team of Executive Producers/Writers and Creators - Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and Tia Napolitano, all of Greys Anatomy success, it's easy to see why this show has so much potential. That is a lot of talent. And there is SO much potential for this show; I can't wait to see how things play out as the season progresses!

I remember Max Thieriot from his earlier movies, "The Pacifier" and "Nancy Drew" and fans of "SEAL Team" will know him right away. His looks lend themselves well to the part of Bode, and his portrayal of an inmate asking for forgiveness was well done. But there was something a bit off putting about the level of intensity that occurred a couple of times in this first episode. His machine gun style of speaking through a couple of heated interactions left me rewinding to understand what he was saying. And the level of anger or intensity didn't quite resonate with the dialogue in the scene. Hopefully this will smooth out as we get to know Bode in the upcoming episodes.

The scenery is beautiful; the locations they found in Vancouver to shoot look a lot like northern California. Nice job. Though Occidental, the small Sonoma County town where Max Thieriot actually grew up, part of his inspiration for the show, is less mountainous and timber covered, there are a lot of similarities. Including the small-town attitude of not wanting to be told what to do! Vince, the Battalion Chief, alludes to this when a fire breaks out near Edgewater and he asks to have the local bar closed. He wants the residents to evacuate, not hang out at the bar. Great scene!

Gabriela Perez, played well by Stephanie Arcia is the daughter of Bode's Fire Captain, Manny Perez; Kevin Alejandro is well cast in this role (think "Ugly Betty" and "Luciefer"). He reminds me of several Fire Crew Captains I worked with at the Camp.

Gabriela is an Olympic athlete trying to decide what direction her life should head next. Towards the end of the episode, she helps the people of Edgewater as a fire approaches their town, afterwards telling her dad how amazing it was to feel a part of something. Uh oh. That's how it all begins. For me too. My seasonal firefighter job for CAL FIRE (1982) became an amazing 31-year career. But I saw more than one co-worker react the same way as Manny when a daughter broke that news of wanting to become a firefighter. We'll see how Manny handles Gaby's decision in upcoming episodes. His line though during this exchange, "fire burns everything around it but water saves it" was one of the cringey bits; awkward dialogue.

Some things I hope to see: When the alarm goes off, three pieces of equipment roll out the door of Station 42. That's 6 - 10 personnel at the station. But we only see two firefighters at meals, two firefighters putting the engine back in service after a call, etc. Where are the rest of the fire house personnel? Looking forward to some Chicago Fire like group banter in upcoming episodes.

The two firefighters we do meet, Jake Crawford (Jordan Calloway) and Everly "Eve" Edwards (Jules Latimer) did a fantastic job of showing what genuine firehouse friendship and camaraderie look like. The crew is your second family and the writing and acting displayed this well. With one cringey exception: the line Eve has after they talk about their friend Riley dying. This is the same Riley that Jake and Bode end up fighting about on the fire line and Sharon and Vince end up sharing a sad moment about at home. So we're learning that her death is part of why Bode is in prison.

But Eve's line, "we're afraid to get close to someone because what if we do and they die" just felt weird. There are a plenty of reasons Firefighters hold back from more intimate relationships. Goodness knows I had more than my share. But a fear of loving someone because they might die isn't really one of them. Firefighters are addicted to the adrenaline rush of the danger. And when you combine being put in life threatening situations on a regular basis with living together 24 hours a day sometimes weeks at a time, well that's pretty much the perfect recipe for a bunch of twenty somethings to fall for each other! Even if it isn't on some deeper level. A hard part about relationships for some firefighters, the ones that are married to their job, is trying to have something meaningful with a civilian. That's why so many of us have relationships with other firefighters, which is depicted well in "Fire Country."

I'm not going to pick apart the technical errors, much. But one thing that is going to rile a fair share of actual firefighters is what we call grooming standards, facial hair, hair length etc. The guys can not have any facial hair, other than a well-trimmed moustache, because the face mask on breathing apparatus won't seal. And everyone, gals and guys have to have their hair off their collar; either cut short or pulled up. Both Vince and Sharon Leone's hair styles wouldn't be allowed.

All in all, "Fire Country" is an awesome show!! I may be a little biased but I also watch a lot of these kinds of shows. And this one could go a long way! It's got great creators, writers and producers, a very well-cast crew and complex and exciting subject matter. I can't wait for Episode 2!

Everyone here has already pointed out the teenage melodramatic dialogue and storylines so I won't bother reiterating that. But what is up with the women actors in the lead? Stephanie arcila sounds all the time like she has a frog in her throat or some serious case of the sniffles. Diane Farr, on the other hand, who is supposed to be this efficient Fire Chief constantly has her helmet on stylishly askew and also talks in a strangled (trying to sound sexy?) voice? The only woman who speaks in an ordinary voice is Jules latimer. Such a relief. On the other hand I should not finger point only at this silly series since I think that this peculiar nasal/congested or jaw-clenching way of talking is spreading amongst American Tv series actresses. Munchy/Munzty (?) in Law and Order Svu has the same time of speech pattern. I cannot understand why they choose these actresses? It would be so much more believable to have women who are not trying to affect a pose whilst speaking playing the parts of hard core police or fire fighters.

And Max, Max, Max.... I get that it was an delicious opportunity to write your own series, but the camera crew or the story line really does you no favours. It is not believable to have an actor who looks like he has passed 40 playing next to two other actors looking like they are 25 and the three of them are supposed to be childhood friends in the same age group. I know the age difference is not great between them in real life but the camera taking Max's close ups is not doing him any favours. Oh well, life will bring new opportunities and the next project is bound to be better!

I don't think he should of listened to this woman. He should have given his speech and at the end told them he was approached by her in the back to admit to something he didn't do because this if he didn't go along with what she wanted he friend would not be up for release for at least two years and it would be because I didn't do what she wanted So now honestly this has turned me completely off on this show. Kind of like how I hate Ghosts and they keep that stupid show on.

I don't know why they had to throw this in because the guy that they put there was a problem from the beginning and he put a end to it and you would think that the district attorney or whoever would be glad about that. And we are trying to show what is good to do in prison and then when these people get to go on fire lines, Because this happens in real life and I just feel like you made a joke about it, how someone good works hard to be able to get out. But in the real world they can go on to work for the fire departments. So they are treated like they are someone, is what I have read, not that someone makes them lies.

Love the story of fire fighting, redemption, affects on incarcerated loved ones,etc. But, from the beginning, Gabriela lost me after she dove in after Bode. Since then, she's whiny, I don't respect her role, she's Not 'Stella Kidd, Sylvie, Violet ', from Chicago Fire! She needs a backbone and Only 1 Fiance per episode!

You don't talk about much while you're Fighting ANY kind of Fire! Writers have to change the soap operas! While fires are going on! Please fix that, cuz I can't Take It!

Sharon almost lost me 2nd Bode round. Didn't like her after new kidney.

Eve was better in Season 1. She's Good though. Bode needs an awesome down home woman. He needs to quit whining too.

My mom and I binged the 1st season. We enjoyed most of it but Gabriela is almost too pathetic to watch.

I think this show has massive potential. They are setting up for a very fun, but tough and messy dynamic with the characters in this small town. People are complaining about the "realism" of the fire and other issues they didn't like but lets remember that this is a pilot episode and those are used to learn almost every time.

Max Thieriot talks so passionately about this show he's been pitching it to them for a couple years. He actually grew up in Northern California and seen these prisoners fighting fires in real life as a kid. I think they will grow as make improvements as they go. But as for my personal opinion, I loved the pilot and am eagerly awaiting next Friday.

I really enjoyed watching this but now it's getting to be too much drama and it's really beginning to miss the mark. Whoever did the research and was an advisor for this show really misses the mark on what goes on on the fire ground. Really they should be fired in a new writer hired to fill in into realism and the fire ground. Some of the drama's okay but there's getting to be overwhelming and not what's projected in the show. Sad fact is going to be another show that is going to go down the toilet because of poorly written storyline appears they want to be more politically correct than realism and that's what stinks.

As you can tell by my review title, I loved the pilot because I loved doing that job. So, I can't wait to see what comes next. I sure hope they dont mess this up.

The technical aspects about firefighting, while not perfect, were realistic enough. The essence of the work was captured yet heavily abbreviated... especially how they rushed thru the training aspect. You dont just sign up and deploy to a working fire without the proper knowledge. Thats how people get killed.

BUT, that is forgivable since it was to ensure that the viewers dont lose interest... the story had to keep moving and essentially get to the "good stuff" as quickly as possible in a one hour show.

Good writing... good story... great action!!!

The show will be a hit. There I said it, great pilot. Once the obligatory virtue signaling was out of the way it jumped off the screen with solid characters, plot & instantly explosively engaging.

Max Theriot has become the 20 year overnight sensation who's come into his own. He obviously has the Hollywood juice these days.

Hell, he's got the goods, right? Looks, voice, talent....he's this decades version of what Tom Selleck was in the 80's & 90's. I don't think he can do too much wrong at this point. Also happy to see he remains totally involved with SEAL Team.....he is a great draw.

I never really give 10's especially this early in the series so starting out with a 9 I took one off for the seemingly over used signaling which is very tiresome and over used.

Like most TV cop shows not being a true reflection of the actual job (I was a Student Security Officer for my university's police department for 5 years), the first episode showed us lots of things that were right about fighting forest fires, but emphasized only the most harrowing and adventurous aspects. If you think digging a fire line is exciting, think again. It's hard work, takes hours and hours, is as boring as you can imagine and takes place far away from any active flames. (And yes, I also worked two summers as a forest fire fighter.)

Like most TV shows, the actual framework seems to be used simply as a way to dramatize interpersonal relationships. If you enjoy that and take a big grain of salt, you'll like this show.