How CBS turned Northern California ‘Fire Country’ into a soap opera with pyrotechnics

“Fireplace Nation,” which premieres Friday on CBS, is a cleaning soap opera with pyrotechnics, set amongst firefighters in a fictional Northern California hamlet the place bushes outnumber folks — for now. With the state predicted to face a fourth yr of drought, and fires burning hotter and quicker with accelerating local weather change, and the query raised not for the primary time of whether or not folks ought to be rebuilding cities that burned to nothing or ought to have been dwelling there within the first place, it’s an odd factor to observe. In fact, firefighters all the time win in the long run — or maybe it’s extra correct to say the fires all the time lose — however the finish is typically lengthy in coming, with acres, constructions and even lives misplaced.

There are different firehouse reveals on the air now — “Chicago Fireplace,” “Station 19” — and, like, “Fireplace Nation,” they’re basically ensemble relationship dramas set in a burning body. The twist right here is the agricultural setting and bringing in Cal Fireplace’s inmate firefighter program, round since World Conflict II, wherein, for a bit pay and day off their sentence, eligible convicts stay in “fireplace camps” and complement the professionals, clearing brush to maintain wildfires from advancing.

Extra to the purpose, “Fireplace Nation” units up the traditional story of a returning prodigal. Right here it’s Bode Donovan (Max Thieriot), a reputation that AI couldn’t have created higher, who as soon as held up somebody at gunpoint however is clearly man now. (The entire convicts appear to be well-behaved, however aside from Bode’s comical new pal Freddy, performed by W. Tré Davis, none has a reputation or persona or greater than a line or two of dialogue.) Bode is also a little bit of an artist, which could change into related later however for the second telegraphs a delicate nature. Unluckily for him, he finds himself despatched to a “fireplace camp” in his outdated hometown, the place there are folks he needs to keep away from and historical past he needs to bury.

Typically one feels the necessity to see a number of episodes of a sequence to jot down about it, however typically its goal is so clear, the project so clearly executed as supposed, that one feels protected in imagining a complete season from a single hour. That is meat-and-potatoes small-town drama, pushed by a big forged of Fairly Folks With Highly effective Emotions and the occasional conflagration. (Simply how occasional solely further episodes will inform.)

The principal characters, who will show to be related in typically “shocking” methods — revelations are spaced all through the hard-working pilot — embody, moreover Bode, division chief Sharon (Diane Farr), who’s married to fireside chief Vince (Billy Burke), in whose station we discover greatest pals Eve (Jules Latimer) and Jake (Jordan Calloway), who’s relationship Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila), a 14th-place Olympic diver who’s deciding whether or not to stay round city or return to Florida to coach and who additionally occurs to be the daughter of Manny (Kevin Alejandro), who runs the convict fireplace camp. There’s additionally a lifeless particular person named Riley who’s essential to a few of them.

A sprinkling of technical references — “Caterpillar D6N,” “10s and 18s”— tends to face out as analysis moderately than create a lived-in world, however that issues no extra right here than stray details in regards to the oil enterprise or cattle ranching did in “Dallas.” The milieu presents alternatives for heroic motion — Bode, described in press supplies as “looking for redemption,” being probably the most instantly heroic amongst them — nevertheless it’s a setting greater than a topic.

“Fireplace Nation” is an excessive amount of of a chunk with different reveals of its ilk to really feel new and thrilling, however that ilk — the prime-time, location-based action-soap — has made hay for many years. Such reveals don’t have to be good so long as they’re sort of enjoyable, with a modicum of engaging characters and sufficient unanswered inquiries to maintain folks coming again. (In any case, I’m not about to warn you away on the idea of a single, fairly good episode.) And a number of the fireplace scenes are thrilling, although on this (literal) local weather, it’s odd to observe issues burn for the sake of a tv present, even when one acknowledges that particular results account for a lot of what we’re seeing and a few professionally managed burns for the remaining. I imply, I’d be stunned to study that the manufacturing group went about willy-nilly setting issues on fireplace — that isn’t a sequence I may ever endorse.