hen Morena Baccarin guest-starred on “Fire Country” there were hints that her storyline could be turned into a series.
“Having to create this character very last minute, without any police training in a show that was about firefighters” was daunting, she says. “It wasn’t until we got here and started training that I really realized what I was doing and how I was getting my bearings, so it was a little bit of a flyby.”
The appearance clicked, producers ordered “Sheriff Country” and the law aspect of Edgewater, California, came into focus.
“It was a lot of pressure,” Baccarin says.
Now, she’s deep into the new series, a procedural that has plenty of ties to the original series. In Edgewater, she’s overseeing a town that has more crime than you thought possible and a family that could be her biggest targets.
“Her father is literally growing illegal weed and she’s a sheriff,” Baccarin says. “It’s all a very high-pressure situation.”
Actors from “Fire Country” also turn up here. Diane Farr, who plays Cal Fire’s division chief, plays stepsister to Baccarin’s Mickey Fox. W. Earl Brown, who plays Baccarin’s father, shows up on both shows.
“It’s going to open up some really, really exciting possibilities,” says Executive Producer (and “Fire Country” star) Max Thieriot. “It’s really about building out this community and having a better sense of one side of the town and then the other.”
That town has crime stories that continue through numerous episodes and addresses the marijuana situation. “You’re dealing with people you know when you roll up on a lot of situations,” says Executive Producer and writer Tony Phelan. “That doesn’t mean the stakes aren’t as high but it does affect how you police. This also gives us an opportunity to show more of Edgewater and who lives there and the kind of things that they’re dealing with. Setting this in a small town is exciting. It leads to different stories.”
For Mickey, there’s immediate growth, says Baccarin. “It’s exciting to see the family grow and how Mickey is ever so frustrated with her (them).” Her daughter plays into the drama as well.
“The show really is about a lot of taking somebody who is very black and white and putting them in awkward and gray situations. It makes for combustion,” says Baccarin.
Heat also emerges between Mickey’s current and former loves. “It makes for great drama,” says Christopher Gorham, who plays one of them. “Man, we get some good fights…and not just fireworks fights, but (ones) based in something that feels very real and genuine for two people who’ve loved each other since they were 17 years old.”
