Sheriff Country Achieves A Rare TV Feat That Puts Fire Country To Shame
Impressively, Sheriff Country achieves a rare TV accomplishment that puts Fire Country to shame. Three years after the Max Thieriot-led first-responder procedural, CBS made another gamble by expanding the universe for the 2025-2026 TV season. Sheriff Country follows the tried and tested cop show format on network TV, but instead of being set in a major city, its events take place in a small town, making it feel more intimate. Led by Morena Baccarin as Mickey, the step-sister of Sharon, Sheriff Country takes place in Edgewater County, the same vicinity as its parent series. Admittedly, launching a spinoff very early on during Fire Country's run was bold. It was an indication, however, of how much CBS believes in the flagship and how it can evolve into a full-blown universe for the broadcaster. Now, the risk has paid off, as proven by Sheriff Country's achievement.
Sheriff Country Is Doing Better In Ratings Than Fire Country
Morena Baccarin as Sheriff Mickey Fox in Sheriff Country
Like Fire Country, Sheriff Country has a fairly complicated personal premise. Aside from being the sheriff of her town, Mickey also deals with her tricky dynamic with her ex-con father Wes and teenage daughter Skye. Understandably, there have been character crossovers between the shows during the cycle, primarily to help the spinoff establish itself as part of the universe. Interestingly, however, Sheriff Country has done better in terms of ratings against the mothership in the cycle thus far. While Fire Country season 4 is averaging 3.7 million viewers per week, while Sheriff Country has around 4.9 million tuning in (via TV Series Finale, 2). This is a significant discrepancy as it is, but what makes this more impressive is that, historically, parent shows tend to do better than its offshoots. Usually, with a few seasons already in, inaugural shows already have a baked-in audience that is big enough to warrant an expansion. Meanwhile, spinoffs have the task of molding itself in the established universe while also offering something new.
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Beyond that, it's also worth noting that CBS didn't have much time for Sheriff Country's launch set-up. Mickey was introduced in Fire Country season 2, and has had several guest appearances since then. That was the extent of setting up the spinoff, as the rest of the narrative was fleshed out in its own show, when it premiered in 2025. That said, it's clear that it was done effectively, as people were immediately hooked.
Why Fire Country Season 4 Is Dropping In Ratings
Gabriela, Jake, and Vince in Fire CountryCBS (via MoviesStillsDb)
The success of Sheriff Country can be chalked to a few things, including its compelling narrative and interesting characters. That said, it's also worth mentioning that its debut coincided with arguably the most precarious time for Fire Country season 4. The CBS first-responder procedural opened the year by saying goodbye to two major characters, who had been on the series since it premiered — Billy Burke's Vince and Stephanie Arcila's Gabriela. Their departures were supposedly done to shake things up for Fire Country. That said, there were justified criticisms about the move, including how it was too much to write both of them out at the same time. For context, Vince died during a fire rescue-gone-wrong in season 3, while Gabriela decided that she needed a fresh start elsewhere. While Sheriff Country builds its identity, Fire Country feels like it is unsure of what to make itself moving forward.
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