SPOILER ALERT! This story contains plot elements from Friday’s episode of Land of Fire on CBS.
Morena Baccarin debuted as Deputy Sheriff Mickey in Land of Fire — a role that could lead to a spinoff series if the TV gods (or CBS) deem it worthy.
In the episode “Alert the Sheriff”, Mickey arrives on scene in Edgewater by helicopter; she’s in pursuit of a money launderer who ends up dumping $50,000 in cash on the convicts while they work in the woods. Viewers quickly learn that Mickey is not only Sharon’s (Diane Farr) half-sister, she also played an unfortunate role in putting Sharon’s son Bode (Max Thieriot) behind bars before he joined Cal Fire’s firefighting program.
Mickey and Sharon are separated, but the women use the episode to heal old wounds. Sharon also leans on Mickey for support when she learns that Bode is not the father of Cara’s daughter, Genevieve. (Before dying in episode 5, Cara asked Bode to take care of the girl).
“Our story is that Mickey’s father was an original resident (of Edgewater) and he was arrested for growing weed,” says Joan Rater, who wrote the episode with Tony Phelan directed by Thieriot. “And if you are a child experiencing this kind of chaos early in life, it would seem logical to us that you would want to avoid chaos at all costs. You would like to believe in order, rules, law and order. So she’s a person who likes order, but she knows everyone in town. This gives him a unique perspective.
“Because of her unique background, she is someone who strongly believes in law as a force against chaos, and she cares deeply about this community,” Phelan adds. “She grew up here in a very real sense, the community saved her when her parents got into trouble early on. So I think a big part of her journey is discovering her own power and her own ability to care for these people.
As for whether Baccarin will get his own series, Phelan says it depends on CBS and its needs. Friday’s episode is not considered a backdoor pilot; the project is expected to go through another stage of development before a possible series order is placed.
“We think there are more stories to be told in Edgewater, and I think the public has responded to the idea of this small town and a small town where many residents are first responders,” he said. Phelan said. “I think that’s one of the things that makes Fire Country special.”
CBS’s decision to explore a Land of Fire The fallout isn’t surprising, given that the drama series ranked as the most-watched new broadcast series last season, averaging 8 million viewers per episode, including 10 million live+35 on multiplatform. And CBS Chairman and CEO George Cheeks hinted at the possibility of a Land of Fire spin-off in conversation with Deadline’s Peter White last June at the Banff World Media Festival.
“We’re focusing on the franchises that have the biggest appeal,” Cheeks said at the time. “The number one show this season was Land of Fire, which completely lends itself to building a whole new universe… It became very clear that not only was the series special, but I really felt like this could be a great example of us building a franchise from scratch. And so I’m like, “you guys, congratulations, you got your nine back.” Now let’s start talking about ideas for new extensions. They’ve already found some really good ones.
Gn entert
News Source : deadline.com
