Jared Padalecki Joins Fire Country, Will Possibly Lead Spinoff — Showrunner Previews His ‘Dynamic’ Debut
Fresh off his four-season run on The CW’s Walker, Jared Padalecki is relocating to Fire Country — and it might not be a short visit.
Padalecki will have a three-episode arc in the CBS firefighting drama’s upcoming third season, our sister site Deadline reports. His character, Camden, is described as a “SoCal firefighter and maverick with a surfer swagger who is a force to be reckoned with and immediately recognizes Bode’s raw talent.”
Speaking with TVLine after the news broke, Fire Country showrunner Tia Napolitano said, “We launch Camden Casey in a really dynamic way.
“We were so excited about casting Jared,” the EP continued, “and he’s really going to ‘flip the script’ in Edgewater,” the fictional Northern California town where the show is set. “Everyone sort of treats Bode (played by series co-creator Max Thieriot) as this tiger they’re trying to tame, and Camden kind of says, ‘Why are you trying to tame a tiger? Let him out!'”
Padalecki has only signed on to recur as Camden, but Deadline is already reporting that the character could land his own spinoff, alongside the Morena Baccarin-led Sheriff Country.
Fire Country planted the seed for its first spinoff when Baccarin (Homeland) guest-starred in an April episode as sheriff’s deputy Mickey Fox, Sharon Leone’s estranged sister. Weeks later, CBS gave a series order to Sheriff Country, which will premiere during the 2025-26 TV season.
CBS CEO Cheeks first teased Fire Country offshoots — plural — back in June 2023, saying the network would be “doubling down” on a show that “completely lends itself to building out a whole new universe.”
Coming off of best-of-freshman class ratings and a highly engaged audience, “It became very clear that not only was [Fire Country] special, it really felt like this could be a great example of us building together a franchise from scratch,” Cheeks said. “And so I’m like, ‘You guys, congratulations, you got your [full-season order]. Now let’s start talking about ideas for new extensions.’ They’ve already come up with some great ones.”
In a TVLine poll, 63% said that they would “definitely” watch Sheriff Country, while 25% said “maybe” (depending on who else gets cast). The other 12% were a big nope.
TVLine spoke with Padalecki back in June, at which point he said he wasn’t ready to jump into another leading TV role just yet.
“I don’t mind long TV, but I’ve heard it said many times, and I agree, that hour-long episodic television is the hardest job in the industry,” Padalecki said. “It’s not for the weak-spirited. Like, you really have to sacrifice a lot, and I’ve sacrificed everything I have to sacrifice for many, many years, and I think I’m at a point in my life where I want to spend more time with my wife and kids. If a job on a TV show comes up, like I’ve talked to [Eric Kripke] about The Boys stuff, like, ‘Yeah, I’ll come play with you for a month. Yeah, I’ll come play with you for two months, for six weeks, or whatever,’ or, ‘Yeah, I’ll come pop in a week out of every month for the next three months.'”
Fire Country Season 3 premieres Friday, Oct. 18 at 9/8c, where it will follow S.W.A.T. Season 8 and lead into Blue Bloods’ final eight episodes.
Will Bode be on all three shows saving everybody?
Probably. The soap opera continues.
Firefighter Jared? And one with swagger? Count me in!!!
Absolutely count me in!!!
Eh, I’m getting a little sick of him. I get a sense he is full of himself. Whether it is true or not it is how I feel. I hope he is short lived on Fire Country and gets a spin off so I can avoid it.
Nobody is making you watch anything he’s in. And no, he’s known as one of the most humble, genuine guys in the industry so your “feeling” is completely wrong.
When he guest stars in multiple episodes of a show you already watch, they pretty much are making you watch it.
As I said I hope he spins off so i DON’T have to watch it. Obviously you are a fan and that is great but sorry we don’t agree. I’ve read some stuff about him I don’t like which is the basis for my feelings, no big deal.
Well, now I have to ask what you’ve read about him that made you feel that way. I’ve never seen anything negative about him.
Mostly it was comments he has made over the years that make me just not like him, just how I feel right or wrong.
As for things outside of feelings, there was the time he was arrested for assault and public intoxication. But mostly the times he posted names and pictures of people he felt gave him bad service online which is petty, unprofessional and dangerous given his large following, Having an opinion and voicing it is fine but publicly shaming people by providing name, location, and photo to your fan base is not.
Lets recap, Fifty… Badmouthing someone online is ok, but defending yourself is wrong? How very twitteresque of you.
I was at a convention he was last month and heard only good things about him and he was very nice when we met for our photo opp
Fair enough.
Ahh ok he did exactly the same thing you are doing with him!
he was wrong bt you are not. OMG
I don’t see how anyone can say what you’re doing is the same. No one’s going to go attack Jared based off your comments, but it is plausible a crazed fan could attack one of the people he’s posted about. I agree with you, he shouldn’t be doing that about service workers. That’s pretty disappointing to hear unless they did something super aggregious like throw food at him
You know when you guys make a habit of reciting this same spiel in every corner of the internet, it’s pretty obvious which 20 Jensen Ackles stans you are.I mean come on, time to stop obsessing with ripping him to shreds in every possible place you can.
Agree or disagree people are allowed to feel what they want, there is no right or wrong.
You can’t talk about jared without talking about jensen he’s just as bad so how about you not watch at all jared hasn’t bothered you
What does Jensen have to do with Fire Country? Why can’t I talk about one actor without talking about another that he no longer works with and is not guest staring on the show I watch? My feelings about Jared are my own right or wrong, and have nothing to do with Supernatural.
I wonder what prompts someone to jump on a post that names a person they don’t really know to say something bad?
I would love to see Jared Padalecki on Fire Country! I love the show since the beginning and I love Jared. He is so talented and it would be a fun ride! Fingers crossed everything falls into place!
Fire Country is filmed in and around Vancouver, where Supernatural filmed for 15 years. Hey, didn’t Jared bought a house with Ruby in the city (S6E15) or was it just a rental?
As global warming continues unabated, the forests around Vancouver could very well need the protection of Bode’s Buds. Now, if we could only get Maggie Q to leave the new Bosch and get dirty in the woods!
Pretty sure that was all made up for the episode, that house the episode took place in certainly wasn’t theirs.
I’m so excited! Love JP. I was so bummed when Walker got canceled. I’m so happy we’ll see him back on our screens soon!
I love Fire Country but love Jared even more, he’s got a special kind of talent as does Max Thieriot and they man play good together but it might create a “whose the hottest” and they both can pull off the lead of their own shows..Glad to see he’s giving it a shot.
He’s overrated.
your username tells me everything I need to know to understand your comment
Damn, now I have to go back to watching this show. I did start watching the first few episodes but lost the thread along the way.
It’s funny because just last night I was watching commercials for it and thought that maybe I should give it another chance.
Looks like I’m gonna have to now.
Why can’t they wait a couple of seasons to start talking about spin-offs? Yeah like wait till like the maybe you’re on the fourth or fifth or sixth season to start talking about Spinoff. Is it just about the money Or is it about to keep people interested in the show?
It worked for Arrowverse and the Chicago franchise, so it happens now and then. Both worked out well.
So excited to hear Jared Padelecki will be joining Fire Country for at least 3 episodes! He’s a hard worker and the CW should have kept Walker going. Even better news is the possibility of a new series for him – after he catches his breath.
One thing fans miss about the Walker series is that IT WAS NOT ORIGINAL! Viewers should keep their eyes peeled for NEW stories with NEW people mixed in with favourites. Production land is so filled with re-runs of old material. The hardest thing they have to do is find people to fill the principal roles and rewrite the credit rolls.
So is jensen ackles yet he’s on what 3 shows now
This great news! “Fire Country: Station [insert number here]” Jared is awesome, loved him on Walker and Supernatural of course. He deserves his own show again.
Jensen gets talk of a Tracker spinoff and now Jared heads to Fire Country…
Jensen reminds me of a cuckoo… Sneakes into the nest and tries to push others out of it.
If Jared Padalecki is going to be on any show……I’m watching it! I live Fire Country! So, bring on Sheriff Country!
This is awesome news!! I just started watching Fire Country and I cannot wait to see Jared on the show.
The new spin-off is called Surf Fire.
Now this is great news. I’d love to see Jared on Fire Country. Hopefully, it becomes true, that a 2nd spinoff involving him, actually come together.
I hope he won’t use his “Walker staccato voice” in this role or it will be tiring again to watch.
After David Boreanaz, Padalecki feels like the second-most steadily employed graduate of the WB/CW. Boreanaz had Buffy/Angel/Bones/SEAL Team, and Padalecki’s had Gilmore Girls/Supernatural/Walker/a potential Fire Country spin-off. (It’ll be hilarious if that proposed spin-off ends up being Boreanaz’s post-SEAL Team project as well!)
I’ve watched Jared on three series and would love a fourth.
Great actor, solid producer, really great human I admire.
BEYOND psyched to hear this. More Jared is better for the environment, better for your well-being and well, just better for us all!
I hope they bring Morena back for more episodes for season 3. Maybe at least 6 to 10 episodes, so we don’t forget about the spinoff.
Also, explain to me why they are rushing. Spin-offs when they should wait, at least maybe 4 to 5 seasons before they think about a Spinoff. Is it just the popularity? I already got and I think they can get more popular..
See paragraphs 6 thru 8 above. –Mgmt.
Thanks CBS for bringing Jared to us, great news. Max and Jared will be an amazing duo.