How Is CBS’ Upcoming ‘Sheriff Country’ Spinoff Different From ‘Fire Country’? (Exclusive)

Sheriff Country is a spinoff of Fire Country — but how do the shows differ?

While speaking to Us Weekly at CBS Fest on Wednesday, May 7, actress Michele Weaver weighed in on the similarities — and differences — between the shows.

“It’s so new. But I do think there is a little bit of a different element just because on Sheriff Country we’re really following a story behind a female lead and the dynamics of what it’s like to be a strong female in a male dominated workplace,” Weaver, 35, noted. “Also, I do think naturally when you’re at a sheriff’s house and not a firehouse, the problems that you’re dealing with are a little bit different.”

Weaver teased how the stakes compare, adding, “It’s not as catastrophic necessarily as much as people issues. This is what’s really exciting is to see the dynamic between the citizens of the city that we already know and love in a new way.”

Fire Country, 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. By the third season, Bode is out of prison and determined to prove himself at Cal Fire.

The world of Edgewater, meanwhile, has 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.

“There are crossovers happening,” Weaver teased. “There’s only a few episodes — but there has been some.”

Weaver was recently announced in the role of Cassidy, who is a deputy in the Edgewater County Sheriff’s Office. After getting inspired by Mickey to join law enforcement, Cassidy puts Mickey on a pedestal and must now figure out what kind of deputy she wants to be.

“The world [in Sheriff Country] is already created, which is wonderful. Because sometimes when you start a show, there’s a lot of stress around the world because it is about whether people will feel like they can join that world, go on a ride in that world, want to live in that world,” the actress explained. “So we know that people love that world already, which is a bonus.”

Weaver continued: “At the same time — because they already love it — we want to make sure that we don’t turn them off or disappoint them. But I think with all things you’re going to get that as a performer, as an artist, as a storyteller, you just put your full heart into it. You try and be as honest as possible and people are going to like it or they don’t.”

Weaver isn’t the only one who offered Us insight into the highly-anticipated spinoff. Thieriot, 36, who is an executive producer on Fire Country and Sheriff Country, revealed he always has new ideas on his mind.

“I know there’s a limit to the amount of Country [shows] we can have. I think there’s also a certain point where it’s, like, quality over quantity,” he explained to Us in April. “So the most important thing is that we’re always nurturing Fire Country — and now Sheriff Country — and making sure that they are getting all the attention that they should be getting so that the audience gets what they deserve. That’s, to me, the most important thing. But outside of the Fire Country universe, my wheels are always turning — sometimes to a fault.”

Sheriff Country will air in fall 2025 on CBS and Fire Country is currently streaming on Paramount+.