Season 4 of “Fire Country” premieres on CBS on Friday, Oct. 17, but not all the stars are returning for the new installment.
Stephanie Arcila (Gabriela Perez) and Billy Burke (Vince Leon) both exited the action drama after season 3. Both Arcila and Burke were original cast members.
Arcila’s character has an on-again, off-again relationship with Bode Leon (Max Thieriot). Even though Arcila won’t return as a series regular, “Fire Country” cocreator Tony Phelan says there’s more in store for Gabriela and Bode.
“We felt like [Bode and Gabriela] needed a reset. We love Stephanie, and we are committed to saying that the Bode-Gabriela story does not end here, it goes on,” Phelan told Deadline in April. “We’re hoping that we can bring [Gabriela] back, because we think that they have such great chemistry, and the audience is really invested in the two of them. But we felt, with everything that’s happening in the finale and moving on into the next season, that it was time for that character to discover what’s next for her.”
During the season 3 finale, Gabriela’s former love interest turned-stalker Finn (Blake Lee) tried to kidnap her, before Bode’s new love interest, Aubrey (Leven Rambin), shot him. During an April interview with Deadline, Arcila confirmed that “Fire Country” producers told her to think of her exit from the show as “kind of a break” as Bodie explores his relationship with Aubrey.
“He’s seeing someone else right now, so it makes sense that we would take a breather,” she said. Arcila is set to make a guest star appearance in the season 4 premiere of “Fire Country.”
As for Burke, season 3 ended with his character, Vince, trapped in a burning building. Vince’s wife, Sharon (Dianne Farr), and his father, Walter (Jeff Fahey), were also left in danger when the cliffhanger episode ended. The season 4 trailer confirms that Vince perished in the fire.
Season 3 of “Fire Country” also set up the possibility of Jordan Calloway (Jake Crawford) leaving the show. With no opportunity to move up the ranks of Station 42, Jake put in his two weeks’ notice after receiving a job offer in another county. But it seems Calloway isn’t going anywhere, because he’s listed as a series regular for season 4.
Also reprising their roles in season 4 of “Fire Country” are Thieriot, Farr, Kevin Alejandro (Manny Perez), and Jules Latimer (Eve Edwards).
