Sheriff Country Has The Chance To Avoid Fire Country's Biggest Mistake

Sheriff Country, CBS's upcoming spin-off of Fire Country, will be a new reimagining of Edgewater's police department led by Mickey Fox (Morena Baccarin), and the series has the opportunity to avoid its parent show's biggest flaws. While Fire Country, which is headed into its fourth season this fall, has been successful, it's also faced some fairly large pitfalls throughout its run.

As fans prepare for the imminent loss of multiple original Fire Country characters like Vince Leone (Billy Burke) and Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila), the show's return is feeling shakier than ever, but its forward momentum in being paired with Sheriff Country season 1 could help. The new series has the opportunity to outrun one of its predecessor's most pressing issues.

While Sheriff Country has the same established world that Fire Country's lived in for years, the cast will be different and the crossover episodes are likely to be minimal, at least at first. With Sheriff Country carving its own path, the new series could avoid some of Fire Country's biggest mishaps, including the early mistake that set the show on the wrong path.

Fire Country Dove Headfirst Into Bode & Gabriela's Story

They Boxed Them In As A Romantic Pairing Quickly

While Fire Country came out of the gate with a ton of energy, the relationship Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) spent the first seasons of the series focused on made it tough for viewers to root for him. Bode and Gabriela were quickly pushed into a romantic pair, and while their relationship never fully materialized in the way viewers hoped, they consistently orbited each other.

Bode and Gabriela had an intense, quick connection that made it clear they were both interested in one another, but with Bode being part of the incarcerated program at Three Rock and Gabriela's position changing throughout the first season, things were tough. Ultimately, Bode and Gabriela's connection wasn't enough to bring them together on screen, which partially led to her departure from the show.

Though many found themselves enjoying Bode and Gabriela as a concept, in execution, their relationship put them in a tough spot. When it became clear that Bode and Gabriela weren't going to be able to work together in a romantic relationship, having both of them in the same space became too difficult, as their connection still existed and couldn't be entirely squashed.

Sheriff Country Has The Chance To Avoid Any Rapid Romantic Pitfalls

The Show Can Take Its Time To Set The Scene

Bode and Gabriela moved so quickly at the start of Fire Country that it became clear to viewers they'd be each other's endgame, but when that changed behind the scenes, it was tough to alter the course of the show on camera. Bode and Gabriela were established to be a main part of Fire Country's story, but eventually, things needed to change.

Reluctant to shift expectations, it was difficult for viewers to come around on Bode and Gabriela not working out in the future. With their connection so heavily established, changing the trajectory of their stories left some confused about what to expect, to the point that Gabriela's story stalled out. Bode, who has a new love interest, works better without Gabriela.

As Sheriff Country season 1 moves into its own story and establishes its own relationship dynamics, it has the chance to avoid early romantic pairings that could heavily impact the show in the future. Instead of picking pairings before viewer response has been taken into account, Sheriff Country can work a bit more slowly, deciding on the future dynamics as they go.