CBS’ ‘Fire Country’ Taps Tia Napolitano as Showrunner

CBS’ newly ordered drama Fire Country is getting a new captain.

Tia Napolitano (Station 19, Cruel Summer) is joining the drama series as showrunner and executive producer. The series from CBS Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television is one of four dramas CBS has added to its roster for 2022-23.

Fire Country (formerly known as Cal Fire) is based on star and executive producer Max Thieriot’s experience growing up in a fire-prone region of Northern California. The series will center on a young convict who, in search of both redemption and a reduced sentence, joins other inmates in working alongside a group of elite firefighters.

Napolitano has some experience working on a show about firefighters: She’s a former writer and co-executive producer of ABC’s Station 19. Her credits also include two other Shondaland/ABC series, Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, as well as running the first season of Freeform’s Cruel Summer.

Thieriot shares story credit on the pilot with Grey’s Anatomy alums Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, who wrote the teleplay (and worked with Napolitano previously on the long-running ABC series). The trio executive produces with Napolitano, Davd Grae, Bruckheimer and Jerry Bruckheimer TV’s Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed. James Strong directed and exec produced the pilot.

Napolitano is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen.