If you watch any given episode of Fire Country – and that will include the episodes on the 2024 TV schedule – you can expect some massive practical effects. From mudslides to fires, the firefighters of Edgewater have taken it all on, and that means the crew behind the scenes has had to figure out how to make it all look real. While computer-generated movie magic is part of it, a lot of practical effects are used too, and Max Thieriot told me all about the first time they used “a lot of real practical fire” on set and why it worked so well.
In preparation for Season 2 of Fire Country, I interviewed the show’s co-creator, producer, star and occasional director Max Thieriot. While looking back on some of the challenges he faced during Season 1 and what he learned from them, the Bode actor told me about the episode he directed, and how that was the first time they decided to use a lot of practical fire. He began his story by explaining:
Probably one of the biggest logistical challenges – but for me was also the most fun, just because I like to be challenged – was episode 21 that I directed last season. [That] was really the first time that we used a lot of real practical fire. You know, we normally have lights and fire, but it's in a smaller amount. And that was the first time where I'd sort of proposed like, ‘Hey, I think it will be cheaper. And I think it'll look better if we just burn this trailer.’ You know, we rig it, we build the thing, and we have it ready to burn and we like thing on fire.
For context, Thieriot directed Episode 21 of Season 1 – “Backfire” – which means the penultimate episode was the first time they heavily used practical fire, while they had been using small amounts of it along with lights beforehand. The actor/director went on to tell me why this worked so well on a lot of levels, noting how the Fire Country cast reacted to the flames on set:
Because I also know that people react differently to real fire than they do to fake fire. And that just, you know, you can tell the first couple of times we went in there, looking at the other actors, like they'd be like, ‘oh, man, like, it's really hot in here. Like, it's, whoa, like, it's really hot, you cannot get close to that.’ And you see people just respond differently.
All of this makes total sense. Having real contained fire on set, and practically creating these incidents rather than completely CGI-ing them in makes a huge difference. It’s likely easier for the performers to act in those moments, and it makes the viewing experience more immersive.
Thieriot continued to say that while pulling this off was a serious logistical challenge, it ended up being worth all the work, he said:
So I think it was a challenge for cameras and stunts and special effects. But I think those challenges don't just excite me, they excite the entire crew. Like everybody's sitting there. And it's like, that new challenge [we ask] ‘How do we do this?’ [and say] ‘Oh, my gosh, this looks awesome.’ And it just adds an excitement to the team. When you're doing it [you’re] like ‘Alright, we're gonna do this thing.’ You know, we feel like it's gonna be great. And then when it is, everybody's exhausted, but they're so sort of pumped and filled with adrenaline from doing it. They're like, ‘That was awesome. Like, we got to do more of that. That was cool.’ So for me, that was probably a big one.
Going into Season 2 of Fire Country, I can’t wait to see how the crew and cast continue to push the boundaries as they take on bigger incidents. Luckily, we won’t have to wait long to see how they up the anty either, because the new season of Thieriot’s hit premieres on CBS on Friday, February 16 at 9 p.m. ET.
If you want to learn more about what happened behind the scenes of this episode directed by Max Thieriot, check out our story about the note Diane Farr received from him that was the most “impactful.” To go back to see the episode he and I spoke about as well as the real fire, you can stream Season 1, Episode 21 – “Backfire” – with a Paramount+ subscription.
