Max Thieriot says Fire Country will evolve after the season 4 finale’s wedding — with a new showrunner for season 5, a not-too-long time jump, surprises ahead, and ongoing ways to keep departures like Vince and Gabriela felt.
The season 4 finale of Fire Country ended with Edgewater feeling almost too good to be true: Jake’s (Jordan Calloway) wedding played out without last-minute deaths or dangerous emergencies. For Max Thieriot, who plays Bode, that wasn’t an accident—it was a decision made to set up the next chapter.
“When we started off the year. we weren’t certain if we wanted to leave some things really up in the air or have a hopeful and joyful ending. ” Thieriot. 37. exclusively told Us Weekly. “We want to leave somewhere that really feels like next season we get to see that new chapter and all these characters’ lives.” He called it the “strongest decision.”.
Thieriot said the finale’s tone was about progression as much as it was about celebration. “You want to be left with something but also this will give us a chance to really get to see these characters evolve and get to see them take the next steps in their lives. There is real progression for them,” he said. “After losing Vince [played by Billy Burke] at the beginning of the year, a wedding is symbolic of new beginnings.”.
He also teased that season 5 won’t just pick up the same storyline with the same people. “We want to start next season with new stuff and bring in some new characters and really build out new story lines for each character. It’s a fun and fresh way to end and it gives us a really great fresh start for the next season.”.
If you’re hoping for answers right away, Thieriot offered a tease rather than a clear-cut promise. “You don’t want to miss too much. so I think we’re going to pick up shortly after. ” he said. “But we get to find these people in that next phase of their life and then it really builds stories for the season that are new chapters for each character.”.
How season 5 will look—especially after a showrunner change—is now the central question for fans.
It won’t be a full reset, Thieriot said. “It is new season, new challenges, new faces — not that we’re exiting people but just allowing the show to evolve and find new fresh things,” he explained. “Thieriot noted that season 5 wouldn’t be a ‘direct pickup’ but there wouldn’t be too much time lost.”
The shakeup behind the curtain is real. Following Tia Napolitano’s exit from the show, Fire Country is preparing to usher in Eric Guggenheim as the new showrunner for season 5.
Thieriot said he respects what Napolitano built. “We’ve done so many episodes and I have so much respect for Tia. What she’s done with the show to get us to this point [is so important]. Eric is new to me. and new to a lot of us and he has his own ideas and he’s very collaborative. ” Thieriot told Us. “Having new voices is fun, right?. Because you get new ideas, new thoughts and new perspective. It allows us to also stand back and hear different perspective on things.”.
Still, Thieriot stressed that Guggenheim isn’t coming in to erase what Fire Country already is. “Eric really brings in a lot of experience with all of his previous work and the shows that he’s going to be involved with. At the same time, he knows what the show is and respects what’s been built,” he continued. “He’s not trying to totally change what this series is. He’s just bringing in a fresh take and fresh look and fresh perspective. It’s helping explore new avenues for the characters.” Thieriot promised “new possibilities” for the show.
The departures are part of the emotional math of the season, and Thieriot didn’t treat them like background noise.
“Obviously, Vince and Gabs are huge parts of the show and will always be,” he said about Billy Burke and Stephanie Arcila’s departures. “You don’t want those characters to just disappear.” He added that they’ll continue affecting choices made by other characters going forward.
Gabriela’s absence is already threaded into the show’s structure, Thieriot said, including her being name-dropped in the finale. “Honestly [keeping their memory alive without them around] was more challenging than everybody expected as we started going into season 4. They’re two very important characters to show and it changes dynamics. It changes how we see certain scenes,” he noted. “It creates its own set of challenges with the writing process. Throughout the season, we started to figure out what that was.”.
And while new faces are coming. Thieriot framed it as a way to grow the show rather than a way to replace what’s gone. “Bringing in some new characters will allow us to have new fresh stories. It’s not just the same people we’re talking about everything with each other. That’s something that I’m looking forward to is getting to see who we’re going to bring in and how they’re going to not only impact our characters but how they’re going to play a part in the series.”.
The changes also reach Bode’s personal life.
In addition to Gabriela, Bode said goodbye to girlfriend Audrey (Leven Rambin) in season 4. Thieriot said Bode has since found love with Chloe (Alona Tal), adding that Chloe will presumably stick around into season 5.
“Their relationship is a more mature relationship in a lot of ways than he’s had,” Thieriot said. “Her outlook on life and the life that she lived at this point is more mature in a lot of ways. It has been easy for him and has kept him a little more stable.”
But the show hasn’t closed every door.
Asked if Gabriela could return, Thieriot said, “We try and leave as many doors open as we always can. Just because they’re not together anymore doesn’t mean that we’ll never see her again.”
He was also asked whether the new spinoff medical series in the works could be a way to bring Gabriela back. Thieriot didn’t give a direct answer—he teased instead that the story groundwork is already underway. “We’re actively fleshing out those stories and the development process. What we’re cooking up is really exciting and feels very, very Edgewater. But it is also unique in the landscape of medical TV shows.”.
Season 4 may have ended on a wedding smile—but Thieriot’s message for season 5 is clear: the show is moving into a new phase, not by pretending the past never happened, but by letting it keep shaping what comes next.
Fire Country Max Thieriot season 5 Tia Napolitano Eric Guggenheim time jump Edgewater Vince Billy Burke Gabriela Stephanie Arcila Chloe Alona Tal Audrey Leven Rambin spinoff medical series
So Vince and Gabriela just disappear??
I don’t get it, they literally had a wedding and no one died… then they say “surprises ahead” like ok so are we getting two deaths next episode or what? Also new showrunner already, love that for consistency 🙄
Wait did the showrunner leave because the wedding was “too hopeful”? Like they couldn’t handle happiness so they had to change writers lol. But Max saying it was a decision makes me think they planned that calm ending specifically to mess with us next season. Idk I’m just guessing.
Every time a show changes showrunners it turns into a whole different vibe. Like if Vince and Gabriela “departures” were already figured out then why act shocked we’re gonna see more departures? Fire Country always feels like someone’s about to get burned alive, so the wedding being safe is kinda suspicious. Also a “not-too-long time jump” doesn’t tell me anything, just say what actually happens after.