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Exclusive: W. Earl Brown has signed on for a guest starring role on the CBS drama series Fire Country. The episode is expected to introduce him as a series regular on the Morena Baccarin-led spinoff Sheriff Country.

The new CBS Studios-produced project was ordered to series for the 2025-26 season in May.

Sheriff Country follows straight-shooting Sheriff Mickey Fox (Baccarin), the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr), who investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater while contending with her ex-con father and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter.

Brown will portray Wes, an off-the-grid marijuana grower as well as the father of Sheriff Mickey Fox and stepfather of Sharon Leone. Wes lives a semi-reclusive life in the mountains of Edgewater, allowing only a select few to know the location of his marijuana grow operation.

Imagine this: you’re sitting down, minding your business, when suddenly a show like Fire Country blazes its way onto your screen. It’s raw, gripping, and just chaotic enough to pull you in. But you know what’s even better? When that fire is about to spread further it turns into a whole new thing. Yes, Fire Country is getting a spinoff, and it’s going to be Sheriff Country.

Max Thieriot in Fire Country (2022)

The announcement of Sheriff Country feels like a hotshot firefighter rolling up to a blaze, ready to tackle it headfirst. And this isn’t just another spinoff to cash in on a name. It’s a whole new beast waiting to be tamed. And trust us, this spin-off? It’s not about playing it safe.

So, what exactly do we know about this firecracker of a spinoff? Grab your popcorn, because here’s everything...

Majesty, a new ITV period drama, aims to portray Queen Elizabeth I’s early life through a daring and modern lens. The project, created by former Grey’s Anatomy showrunners Joan Rater, Tony Phelan, and William Harper, will follow Elizabeth’s formative years at King Henry VIII’s court, combining historical intrigue with speculative narrative.

The series, directed by James Strong (Mr Bates vs the Post Office), will center on conspiracy theories surrounding Elizabeth’s early years. While Elizabeth I is frequently portrayed as a formidable ruler who reigned for nearly 50 years, Majesty takes a different perspective, delving into her early difficulties and secrets. The show’s makers describe it as “an emotional, funny, and contemporary-feeling alternate history about how three outsiders try to stay alive while hiding a secret that, if discovered, would rock England to its foundations.”

This unique perspective comes as Tudor-era dramas regain appeal. The BBC has...

Exclusive: A trio of former Grey’s Anatomy showrunners are teaming on an ITV period drama that will reimagine the life of a young Elizabeth I in the court of the notorious King Henry VIII.

As the BBC’s high-profile Tudor series Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light amasses solid ratings, Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and William Harper are teaming on Majesty, which is being directed by Mr Bates vs the Post Office helmer James Strong. The show comes from Strong’s nascent Studiocanal-backed indie Strong Film & Television and is being sold by Studiocanal.

Majesty will depict the life of a young Elizabeth I and her place in the court of King Henry VIII. Yet far from being an historical account of Elizabeth’s early years, it will reimagine her life based upon conspiracy theories which surrounded her when she was young. Elizabeth I became Queen a decade after Henry VIII’s death,...

Exclusive: Max Thieriot, star, co-creator and executive producer of Fire Country and co-creator/executive producer of spinoff Sheriff Country, has signed a first-look deal with the studio behind the CBS drama franchise, CBS Studios.

Thieriot has been in the CBS/CBS Studios fold since he was cast as a series regular on the 2017 military drama Seal Team, transitioning to Fire Country after the pilot was picked up to series that went on to become the most watched freshman of the 2022-23 season.

“I’ve been working now with CBS and CBS Studios for almost 10 years, and have come to love everybody over there,” Thieriot said. “At this point they really are like family, and that for me is one of the most important things in this business. From the beginning, they believed in me and supported me, helping me along the way of finding the best people to be involved with.

Exclusive: Following the outsized success of Prime Video’s YA drama The Summer I Turned Pretty, Amazon is bringing another popular romantic book series to the screen. The streamer has given a series order to Off Campus, a college-set romantic drama based on the international best-selling novels by Elle Kennedy, with Louisa Levy (Death and Other Details) serving as showrunner.

The TV adaptation, produced by Amazon MGM Studios, is starting the way the book series does, with the first season based on the first novel, the 2015 The Deal, following the unlikely romance between a wry, hockey-hating music major and Briar University’s playboy star center.

There are 5 books in Kennedy’s Off-Campus series, which depicts the elite ice hockey team, and the women in their lives, as they grapple with love, heartbreak, and self-discovery—forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood.

Jared Padalecki has been cast in the upcoming third season of “Fire Country” at CBS, Variety has confirmed.

Padalecki will appear in three episodes in a recurring role. He will play Camden, who is described as “a SoCal firefighter and maverick with a surfer swagger who is a force to be reckoned with and immediately recognizes Bode’s (Max Thieriot) raw talent.”

The role keeps Padalecki in business with CBS Studios, which produces “Fire Country.” Padalecki recently starred in the studio’s series “Walker,” which aired for four seasons at The CW with Padalecki in the lead role and executive producing. He was also an executive producer on the prequel series “Walker: Independence,” which aired for one season.

Padalecki is of course best known for starring in the long-running series “Supernatural” at The CW/The WB. The series aired for 15 seasons with Padalecki leading the show alongside Jensen Ackles. There...

Exclusive: Jared Padalecki is returning to series television. The former Supernatural star, coming off a four-season run as the lead of Walker, has been tapped for a three-episode arc on the upcoming third season of CBS’ hit drama series Fire Country, headlined and executive produced by Max Thieriot.

He will play Camden, a SoCal firefighter and maverick with a surfer swagger who is a force to be reckoned with and immediately recognizes Bode’s (Thieriot) raw talent.

The deal with Fire Country producer CBS Studios is strictly for the recurring role, sources said. Given Padalecki’s status as a popular leading man with two hit series under his belt, I hear there is a possibility for the guest stint to lead to a new spinoff headlined by him that would join the upcoming Sheriff Country.

Sources stress that the idea is still in its nascent stages. And similarly to the NCIS franchise,...

“Loot” Renewed at Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s “Loot” is in the money: the comedy series, starring and executive produced by Maya Rudolph, has been renewed for a third season at the streamer.

Created by Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, “Loot” stars Rudolph as Molly Wells, who, after divorcing her tech billionaire husband (Adam Scott) after 20 years, must figure out what to do with her $87 billion settlement and turns her attention to running the charitable foundation she forgot she started to connect with the real world.

Watch the trailer for “Loot” Season 2 below:

The series also stars Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Nat Faxon, Ron Funches, Joel Kim Booster, Meagen Fay, and Stephanie Styles, with Season 2 guest stars including O-t Fagbenle, Benjamin Bratt, Ana Gasteyer, Hayley Magnus, John Lutz, Pam Murphy, Jim Rash, and Allan Harvey among the guest stars in Season 2.

The second season of “Loot” debuted this past April and...

CBS hit “Fire Country” is coming to Netflix. The first season of the firefighter procedural will be available to stream on Netflix in the U.S. beginning August 1. Both Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available to stream on Paramount+, with the third season debuting on CBS on Oct. 18.

The world of “Fire Country” is also expanding, with a police-focused spinoff “Sheriff Country,” led by Morena Baccarin, coming in the 2025-2026 TV season.

“Our intention was always to show more of Edgewater, more of this town and more of the people in this town and how they relate to our characters. It feels like we really are expanding our scope a little bit,” executive producer and co-creator Tony Phelan recently told Variety.

While not originally planned as a franchise, it’s no secret that procedural franchises are extremely successful.

“Because people respond to this small town and the people who are there,...

Fire Country is coming to Netflix. Season 1 of CBS’ popular drama will be available on Netflix in the US beginning August 1 in a deal made by series producer CBS Studios. This is an additional domestic streaming window for Fire Country, co-created and starring Max Thieriot, whose first two seasons are on Paramount+. It is designed to give the show additional exposure ahead of its Oct. 18 Season 3 premiere on CBS.

Paramount Global has been the most open to content windowing among the vertically integrated traditional media companies, with CBS Studios at the forefront of that, opening non-exclusive streaming windows for some of its current series on Netflix in the US after selling the shows internationally.

In a similar move, the studio in September 2020 licensed the first seasons of its CBS series Evil and The Unicorn to Netflix in advance of the shows’ second seasons on CBS that had been delayed by the pandemic.

Humanitas has announced nominations for the 2024 Humanitas Prize in nine juried categories, including TV, film and documentary fields. Noms in the comedy field include “Hacks,” “The Simpsons,” “Girls5eva” and “Act Your Age,” while drama entrants include “The Crown,” “The Morning Show,” “Station 19” and “Black Cake.”

“For fifty years, The Humanitas Prizes have recognized writers who explore the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way, with stories that entertain and uplift audiences,” said Humanitas executive director Michelle Franke. “The Humanitas Prizes champion work that enhances the lives of viewers, even if these projects are not always rewarded by the marketplace.”

Humanitas has tapped actors/writers June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer as host of this year’s Humanitas Prizes event, which will take place on Thursday, September 12 (three days before the Emmy Awards) at Avalon Hollywood. The 2024 New Voices Fellowship, David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Award and Carol Mendelsohn...

If there is one thing you can count on from CBS, it's that they know when they have a golden goose on their hands, and it isn't long before they start dishing out those priceless eggs.

As a network that loves a good spinoff, it was only a matter of time before Fire Country, which saw success as wild as the fires it fights in the series, received its own interconnected show to branch out its stories and characters further.

However, unlike its parent show, Sheriff Country will focus on fighting criminal activity rather than renegade wildfires that the chiseled Max Theriot has to put on a shirt to put out.

There is not much information about the series at the moment, but that won't stop us at TV Fanatic from sharing everything we know so far about Sheriff Country Season 1!

What Is Sheriff Country About?

Sheriff Country stars Morena Baccarin...

Exclusive: Promised Land creator Matt Lopez has joined CBS’ recently picked up drama series Sheriff Country as executive producer and showrunner. The Fire Country spinoff, headlined by Morena Baccarin, is slated to debut during the 2025-26 season, with a writers room expected to open in late summer.

Sheriff Country was introduced when Baccarin guest starred in an April episode of the mothership series. Like the Fire Country pilot, the planted spinoff was written by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan from a story the duo co-wrote with series’ star Max Thieriot, whose real-life experiences inspired Fire Country. (Thieriot also directed the backdoor pilot episode.)

The offshoot also is following Fire Country‘s leadership pattern. While Grey’s Anatomy alums Rater and Phelan are executive producers and a writers room fixtures on the mothership series, Tia Napolitano was brought in as day-to-day showrunner. Lopez is taking on the duties for Sheriff Country. He...

Updated: The network upfronts are once again front-and-center for the television industry as major players gather in New York May 13-16 for the springtime ritual of courting advertisers and media buyers and presenting programming plans for the upcoming TV season.

The industry is looking forward to a return to form after the disruption of last year’s writers and actors strikes. As content chiefs outline their schedules for the 2024-2025 television season, here is a running list of new comedy, drama and unscripted series orders handed out by ABC, Disney, CBS, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC, Fox, the CW and other major players. This post will be updated throughout upfront week.

Related Content: Upfronts 2024 Full Coverage

NBC Comedy

Happy’s Place (Universal Television)

Logline: Bobbi inherits her father’s bar and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.

CBS has given an early series order to “Sheriff Country,” a new spin-off of hit Eye network drama “Fire Country.” But rather than airing the show next fall or midseason, CBS plans to save “Sheriff Country” for the 2025-2026 TV season.

The show comes out of a “Fire Country” backdoor pilot that aired on April 12 as the episode “Alert the Sheriff.” In that episode and in the series, Morena Baccarin (“Homeland”) stars as “straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox,” the stepsister of “Fire Country’s” Cal Fire division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr). Per the logline, Mickey “investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater while contending with her ex-con father and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter.”

Tony Phelan and Joan Rater are writing the first “Sheriff Country” episode, with story by Phelan, Rater and Max Thieriot. Executive producers are Thieriot, Phelan, Rater, and Jerry Bruckheimer and...

CBS has ordered its first new series for the 2025-26 broadcast season. The network has given a green light to Fire Country spinoff Sheriff Country, headlined by Morena Baccarin. The series order was announced Thursday during CBS’ presentation in Los Angeles.

In Sheriff Country, Baccarin stars as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr of Fire Country), who investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater while contending with her ex-con father and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter.

Related: George Cheeks Addresses Paramount Global Shakeup, Company Morale At CBS Schedule Reveal

The (then) potential spinoff was introduced when Baccarin guest starred in an April episode of the mothership series. Like the series’ pilot, the episode was written by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan from a story the Grey’s Anatomy alums co-wrote with series’ star Max Thieriot,...

While announcing its schedule for the 2024-25 TV season Thursday, CBS also got a head start on the season after that.

The network has formally greenlit Sheriff Country, a spinoff of its second-year drama Fire Country. Morena Baccarin (Deadpool, Gotham) will star, reprising her role from an April Fire Country episode that set up the spinoff.

Sheriff Country won’t premiere, however, until the 2025-26 season. CBS Entertainment president told reporters Thursday that the extra time will give the network breathing room to get the show right.

“We do long-term development at CBS now,” Reisenbach said. “[The extra year] gives us plenty of time to cast it and figure out how we want to produce it. It’s a huge opportunity for us and speaks to the kind of development we want to be doing.”

CBS also has three new dramas on tap for 2024-25 in a reworking of Matlock starring Kathy Bates...

If you read the headline and are asking yourselves, pilots? what pilots? — you are not wrong. It’s been largely a 2024 pilot season without pilots. A grand total of maybe one of them is expected to factor into any fall decisions as the broadcast networks prepare to unveil their schedules, starting with CBS tomorrow, May 2.

Needless to say, the broadcast pilot season is no longer the industry obsession it once was this time of year, with back-to-back disruptions from the pandemic and the dual Hollywood strikes providing the proverbial final nail in the coffin of the decades-old pilot cycle. But for tradition’s sake, here are some insights into the networks’ current development plans.

There is no more stacked lineup for next season than CBS’ with three new drama series, Young Gibbs prequel NCIS: Origins; Matlock, starring Kathy Bates; and Watson, headlined by Morris Chestnut; and two new comedies, Poppa’s House,...

Spoiler Alert! This story contains plot points from Friday’s episode of Fire Country on CBS.

Morena Baccarin made her debut as deputy sheriff Mickey on Fire Country — a role that could lead to a spinoff series if the TV (or CBS) Gods deem it worthy.

In the episode “Alert the Sheriff,” Mickey enters the scene in Edgewater via helicopter; she’s in pursuit of a money launderer who ends up dumping $50,000 in cash over the convicts while they while they’re working in the woods. Viewers quickly learn that Mickey is not only the step-sister of Sharon (Diane Farr), she also played an unfortunate role in putting Sharon’s son Bode (Max Thieriot) behind bars before he joined the Cal Fire firefighting program.

Mickey and Sharon have been estranged, but the women use the episode to heal old wounds. Sharon also leans on Mickey for support when she learns...

One of Edgewater’s bravest will get a blast from their past when CBS’ Fire Country introduces a new character that, in success, just might headline the sophomore drama’s first spinoff.

In the sixth episode of this 10-episode season, titled “Alert the Sheriff” and airing Friday at 9/8c, after a fire camp inmate escapes from Three Rock, a deputy sheriff “with a surprising connection to the Leones” is called to investigate.

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Series creator, executive producer, and star Max Thieriot steps behind the camera to direct CBS’s Fire Country season two episode six. Written by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, episode six – “Alert the Sheriff” – featuring guest star Morena Baccarin (Gotham) will air on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 9pm Et/Pt.

Max Thieriot leads the cast as Bode, Billy Burke plays Vince, Kevin Alejandro is Manny, and Diane Farr is Sharon. Stephanie Arcila stars as Gabriela, Jordan Calloway is Jake, and Jules Latimer plays Eve.

“Alert the Sheriff” Plot: After a fire camp inmate escapes from Three Rock, the deputy sheriff with a surprising connection to the Leones, Mickey (Baccarin), is called to investigate.

Alex Désert as Rudy, Max Thieriot as Bode Leone, and Alberto Frezza as Andy Kubiak in ‘Fire Country’ season 2 episode 6

Series Description, Courtesy of CBS:

Fire Country stars Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption...

Spoiler Alert! This story contains plot points from Friday’s episode of Fire Country on CBS.

In Friday’s episode dubbed “This Storm Will Pass,” the Edgewater firefighters encounter their first firenado that ends up taking the life of someone very close to the team.

Here, showrunner Tia Napolitano and executive producers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan explain why it made sense to say goodbye to a character who was first introduced in season one, and how the Cal Fire team — especially Bode (Max Thieriot) — will respond going forward.

Deadline: So was this your first firenado?

Joan Rater: Yes, we’re firenado virgins?

Tia Napolitano: We ask all the writers to come in with the most interesting incidents, big or small, at the top of the season. Someone pitched a firenado. Obviously that’s on the big end of the spectrum and we all gravitated toward it really early.

It's not uncommon to see a successful TV show start talking about spinoffs. We have seen it done on several franchises, from FBI to NCIS to the One Chicago universe.

With the difficulty of getting high rankings and extra seasons, it makes sense (sort of) for TV execs to expand a storyline with new characters to turn into spinoffs. Why take the chance on a new series when you know you've got a current hit?

However, these moves also risk overexposure for the characters we love. I love a good crossover as much as the next person. But sometimes they be doing too much.

Is that the future for the already flailing ongoing series Fire Country and its new potential upcoming spinoff Sheriff Country? Let's discuss!

What is Fire Country?

Many primetime TV viewers fell in love with Max Thieriot in his supporting role as Clay Spencer on Seal Team.

CBS has renewed the comedy “Ghosts” for Season 4 and the drama “Fire Country” for Season 3.

Both shows launched their new seasons in mid-February due to the impact last year’s dual writers’ and actors’ strike had on broadcast production schedules.

“’Ghosts’ and ‘Fire Country’ are proven viewer favorites on both broadcast and streaming thanks to exceptional storytelling, talented actors and an ever-growing fan base,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “We are elated to keep the momentum going and bring them back to CBS next season.”

Per CBS, “Ghosts” is currently averaging 10.2 million viewers per episode in Live+7 multiplatform viewing, while “Fire Country” is averaging 9.2 million.

Ghosts” is based on the UK series of the same name. The American version stars Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Brandon Scott Jones, Richie Moriarty, Danielle Pinnock, Asher Grodman, Román Zaragoza, Sheila Carrasco, Rebecca Wisocky and Devan Chandler

Joe Port and Joe Wiseman developed...

CBS has renewed the hit Friday night drama Fire Country for a third season.

From creators and executive producers Tony Phelan, Joan Rater and Max Thieriot, the series follows Bode Donovan (Thieriot), a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining a prison release firefighting program in Northern California. The program partners inmates with elite firefighters to extinguish unpredictable wildfires across the region.

When Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown—where he was once a golden all-American son—until his troubles begin as he burns down everything in his life, now, he’s looking for the opportunity to change his destiny.

Billy Burke, Kevin Alejandro, Diane Farr, Stephanie Arcila, Jordan Calloway and Jules Latimer also star.

Fire Country is averaging 9.21 million viewers in live 7-day multiplatform viewing, up +7% from last year, the network shares while touting the series as a top 6 in streaming on Paramount+.

After a nine-month hiatus between new installments, Fire Country Season 2 Episode 1 certainly delivered a lot of -- (forgive the pun) fireworks.

In fact, if your favorite thing about this show is its tendency to deliver absolutely bonkers twists and turns, then you might have thought that that was just the episode yet.

Hell, there was literally a prison knife fight that ended abruptly when an earthquake struck, and one of the combatants was crushed by a chunk of concrete ceiling.

But if you're a fan of Fire Country's more nuanced, subtle moments, then you might not like the direction in which this season is headed.

Either way, you're probably curious about how the writers will follow up such an eventful season premiere.

Well, you're in luck, because we've got all the advance info you need about what comes next for Bode Leone, Station 42, and the Three Rock crew.

Speaking of Three Rock,...

It’s the moral dilemma first responders are faced with too often: How much do you risk to save a life? They put their lives on the line, and they’re willing to do so, but the February 23 episode of Fire Country is really going to test that part of our favorite firefighters. In “Like Breathing Again,” directed by series star Kevin Alejandro (who was also behind the camera for a Season 1 episode), while breaking up a bonfire party, the Station 42 crew is called to complete a dangerous and highly complex cave rescue. “Really what it comes down to is they’re faced with this cave that these kids go into regularly, and they really have to come to terms with, where is that line between putting firefighters at risk versus attempting this rescue?” executive producer Tony Phelan previews for TV Insider. “And I think it really tests everybody’s resolve on those questions because,...

When Fire Country EPs Tony Phelan and Joan Rater told TVLine that “everybody’s in a new place” when Season 2 opens, they were not kidding.

I mean, yes, of course, Bode is now back behind bars, where he has been misbehaving so as to get moved closer and closer to Sleeper’s cell block. But pretty much everyone else has experienced change either on the professional or personal front, in the six months that have passed since the events of the Season 1 finale.

More from TVLineThe Voice Recap: Bono Way! Did the Blinds Just Introduce a Singer On Par With U2's Frontman?...

Exclusive: Morena Baccarin (Deadpool franchise) is set to appear in an upcoming episode of CBS’ Fire Country, playing a sheriff character that could lead her own series. Baccarin will guest star in the Season 2 episode with an option to become a series regular in a potential spinoff series, Deadline has learned. Like the mothership series, the proposed offshoot would be produced by CBS Studios.

Fire Country stars Max Thieriot as a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining a prison release firefighting program in his rural Northern California hometown of Edgewater.

In the planted spinoff episode, which will air later in the season, Baccarin will play Mickey, a Sheriff’s Deputy for fifteen years who knows every corner of Edgewater … and every one of its inhabitants. This is her town and she’s fiercely protective of it.

Baccarin emerged as a top choice for the role...

Two of Fire Country‘s creators are here to offer a spark of hope for the CBS hit’s anxious fans.

Season 1 of last season’s most-watched and highest-rated freshman series followed Max Thierot’s Bode as the convict sought redemption (and a shortened sentence) by joining the Three Rock prison-release firefighting program.

More from TVLineSVU's Mariska Hargitay: Benson's Compass Necklace Is a Daily Reminder From 'Somebody That She Knows Loves Her' - WatchThe Summit: Mountain Climbing Competition Series Hosted By Spartacus' Manu Bennett Ordered at Cbsncis: Hawai'i Season 3 Trailer Features Sam/Jane Pep Talk and Your Favorite 'Dynamic Duo' (Exclusive)

Alas,...

Exclusive: Tye White (American Auto) and Jason O’Mara (The Man in the High Castle) are set for key recurring roles on the upcoming second season of CBS drama series Fire Country.

The drama stars Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining a prison release firefighting program in Northern California, where he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires across the region. It’s a high-risk, high-reward assignment, and the heat is turned up when Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown, where he was once a golden all-American son – until his troubles began. Five years ago, Bode burned down everything in his life, leaving town with a big secret. Now he’s back, with the rap sheet of a criminal and the audacity to believe in a chance for redemption with Cal Fire.

CBS is looking to turn another successful drama into a franchise. The network will introduce a new character in an episode from Fire Country‘s upcoming second season that could anchor her own series, sources tell Deadline.

Casting is currently underway for the role, a female sheriff, which is an episodic guest star with an option to become a series regular.

Sources caution that this is not a formal backdoor pilot order, and CBS could go different routes with the new character if the episode is well received, spinning off the character into her own series or adding the actress to the cast of the Fire Country mothership.

CBS’ decision to explore a Fire Country spinoff is not surprising, given the fact that the CBS Studios-produced drama starring Max Thieriot ranked as the most watched new broadcast series last season, averaging 8 million viewers per episode, 10 million in live+35 multi-platform viewing.

A24’s Past Lives, the debut film from director Celine Song, won Best Feature tonight at the 33rd Gotham Awards in Manhattan. Check out the full winners list for one the first ceremonies of the movie-kudos season below.

Past Lives follows two deeply connected childhood friends (Greta Lee and Teo Yoo) who are wrested apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny. Here is Song’s acceptance speech:

Lily Gladstone took home the Outstanding Lead Performance award — not for Killers of the Flower Moon but for Music Box Films’ The Unknown Country (watch her acceptance speech here) — and Charles Melton won the Supporting prize for Netflix’s May December (speech video here). Both are gender-neutral categories.

Neon’s Anatomy of a Fall picked up the first two trophies of the night...

Lily Gladstone, Charles Melton, Ali Wong take acting honours.

Celine Song’s Past Lives at A24 was named best feature while Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon collected two honours at the 33rd Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night.

In the first major awards ceremony of the season – with actors in attendance since the end of the 118-day strike –Triet’s crime mystery Anatomy Of A Fall was crowned best international feature, and Triet and Arthur Harari took home the award for best screenplay.

Lily Gladstone won the prize in the...

Monday was move-in day for the writers of CBS’ Fire Country who spent the morning unpacking boxes in their new (larger) office space on the Radford lot, an upgrade from the crammed bungalow/trailer they occupied last year, possibly in recognition of Fire Country ending the 2022-23 as the most watched new broadcast series.

It was also a return-to-work day for the 11-member writing team (and support staff) of the firefighter drama on the day the first writers rooms reopened after the five-month WGA strike. It is led by showrunner/executive producer Tia Napolitano as well as executive producers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan who co-created the series with star/executive producer Max Thieriot.

As they all gathered around the table in their new writers room for the first time just after lunch, the group shared their thoughts about the strike and starting work on the new season after a...

Update: A roster of talent including Jason Alexander, Jack Black, Lily Tomlin and Jeremy Allen White, among others, will join the Give Back-ular Spectacular! fundraising variety show to benefit the entire community of artists, craftspeople, technicians, production assistants and support staff facing financial difficulty due to the strikes.

Produced by Marta Kauffman, Paul McCrane, Paul Scheer and more, The Give Back-ular Spectacular! set for October 25, 6 p.m., in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theater will feature, in addition to those mentioned above, Rachel Bloom, LeVar Burton, Nicole Byer, Bryan Cranston, Lil Dicky, Lindsay Dougherty, Simon Helberg, Janelle James, Michael McKean, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, June Diane Raphael, Andrea Savage, Paul Scheer, Dax Shepard and Julian Velard.

The evening will consist of sketch comedy, stand-up, live interviews, musical performances, and more. Ticket and other information can be found here.

Previous, Sept. 7: Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman, actors Paul McCrane (ER) and...

The “Give Back-ular Spectacular” is coming into focus.

Organizers for the live telethon-style fundraiser — set to take place at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles on Oct. 25 — have confirmed a roster of celebrity participants that includes (in alphabetical order) Jason Alexander, Jack Black, Rachel Bloom, LeVar Burton, Nicole Byer, Bryan Cranston, Lil Dicky, Lindsay Dougherty, Simon Helberg, Janelle James, Michael McKean, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, June Diane Raphael, Andrea Savage, Paul Scheer, Dax Shepard, Lily Tomlin, Julian Velard and Jeremy Allen White. The program is set to feature sketch comedy, stand-up, live interviews, musical performances and more.

As previously announced, the purpose is to “raise money for emergency financial relief for the entire community of artists, craftspeople, technicians, production assistants and support staff facing financial difficulty due to the strikes.”

The event is being produced by Marta Kauffman, Paul McCrane, Robbie Rowe Tollin, Jesse Schiller, Paul Scheer, Tony Phelan, Tara Miele...

The Union Solidarity Coalition — founded over the summer by a group of writer-directors moved to support crewmembers amid the strike — launched an eBay auction last week with lots so unique, it seems they were dreamed up in a writers room. And the bids have been rolling in fast and thick.

A sampling of the offerings and current bids (as of publication time) include dinner with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross ($10,200); the cast of Bob’s Burgers singing a custom song ($7,200); Natasha Lyonne helping solve the New York Times Sunday crossword via Zoom ($6,100); Lena Dunham painting a mural in your home ($5,100); John Lithgow painting a watercolor portrait of your dog ($4,450); a pottery class with Busy Philipps in New York ($3,500); Adam Scott walking your dog in L.A. for one hour ($2,500); a Zoom with Barry Jenkins and Nicholas Britell ($1,250); and a relationship advice squabble over Zoom with Rosemarie Dewitt and Ron Livingston ($1,136).

The...

They’re calling it “The Give Back-ular Spectacular.”

A new fundraiser has been set for L.A.’s Orpheum Theater on Oct. 25 as a benefit for workers amid Hollywood’s dual strikes, organized in partnership with the Union Solidarity Coalition. It will be co-hosted by Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman, actor and director Paul McCrane and actor and writer Paul Scheer.

Per official intel distributed Thursday, the fundraiser is designed “to raise awareness that this strike is adversely affecting not just writers and actors, but the entire community of artists, craftspeople, technicians, production assistants and support staff” while also raising money to cover Cobra and healthcare premiums for members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Teamsters, Laborers’ International Union of North America and other workers who are being financially impacted by the work stoppage.

Tusc was founded by writers and directors who were moved to support crews affected...

Humanitas, the organization that annually honors film and television writers whose work best explores the human condition, has revealed its 2023 winners.

Among the prizewinners is Craig Mazin, who scripted Season 1 The Last of Us episode “Long Long Time” that starred Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett. Mazin won in the Drama Teleplay category, beating out fellow semifinalists that included Peter Gould who was up for the series-finale episode of Better Call Saul.

Other Humanitas category winners in TV included Amy Sherman-Palladino for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Comedy Teleplay), and Tony Phelan & Joan Rater for the pilot of A Small Light in Limited Series.

On the movie side, winners included Tyler Perry for his Tyler Perry: A Jazzman’s Blues in the Drama Feature Film category, over Rebecca Lenkiewicz for She Said and Michael Reilly & Keith Beauchamp and Chinonye Chukwu for Till. Cooper Raiff won Comedy Feature Film for his indie Cha Cha Real Smooth,...

This year’s Humanitas Prizes for screenwriting, usually handed out at Beverly Hilton ceremony, were announced via the Los Angeles Times this year in solidarity with the unions on strike, including the Unite Here Local 11 hospitality workers. And on top of awarding shows like The Last of Us and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Humanitas, an organization founded in 1974, also honored the striking Writers Guild of America itself with its “Voice for Change” award. Past winners of that award have included Ava DuVernay and Kenya Barris.

Humanitas’ mission is to tell “stories that explore the human experience because we believe that the act of acknowledging our common humanity is transformational.” With that in mind, this year the organization’s winners include The Last of Us‘ Craig Mazin for the teleplay for the emotional and critically lauded episode “Long, Long Time” in the drama television category. In the comedy equivalent, Amy Sherman-Palladino...

The Union Solidarity Coalition, a group founded by writers and filmmakers moved by solidarity on the picket lines, has set a fundraising Solidarity Night for Sat. July, 15 to raise money for crew members affected by the ongoing writers’ strike. The event will be held in downtown Los Angeles from 6-10 p.m.

All proceeds from Solidarity Night will go to the Tusc Fund of MPTF, benefitting film crew members who are at risk of losing their healthcare during the work stoppage.

A host committee including Lulu Wang, Boots Riley, Ben Stiller, Jay Roach, Daniel Kwan, Bob Odenkirk, Joe Robert Cole, Natasha Lyonne and many others will welcome attendees to a mixer to underscore Tusc’s mission of inter-union solidarity in the TV and film industry, “creating a space for writers, directors, actors and crew to interact in a casual space where entertainment takes on a different meaning than just a...

The Best Limited Series/TV Movie Writing category has 111 submissions on the 2023 Emmys ballot, giving us six nominees this year. With the same number of nominees last year, they were “Dopesick” (“The People vs. Purdue Pharma” by Danny Strong), “The Dropout” (“I’m in a Hurry” by Elizabeth Meriwether), “Maid” (“Snaps” by Molly Smith Metzler), “Station Eleven” (“Unbroken Circle” by Patrick Somerville), “Impeachment: American Crime Story” (“Man Handled” by Sarah Burgess), and the winner “The White Lotus” (Mike White).

What makes last year interesting is that half of the shows in the category were not nominated for Best Limited Series, something that perhaps could repeat itself to a degree with this year’s potential nominees. Another thing of note is that almost all of the top contenders this year that had the option to submit multiple episodes only went with one, preventing any possibility of vote-splitting.

Take “Beef” for example,...

Bel Powley stars in the National Geographic series “A Small Light” as Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide Otto Frank and his family during WWII. During a reception for the show Thursday at the San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood, the actor recalled being on set when she first heard about Kanye West’s antisemitic comments in October 2022.

“We were filming the show when all of the Kanye stuff was happening,” Powley told me. “I was obviously living in the world of the show, which has a lot of Nazi rhetoric because we’re making a show about the Nazi occupation in 1942, but then suddenly seeing and hearing that same rhetoric spoken now by a world-famous celebrity with huge influence was so freaky and unsettling and saddening.”

During a Q&a earlier in the evening, moderator Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”) took off her Star of David necklace and gave it...

Joan Rater wasn’t interested in making another Holocaust project about Anne Frank, in part because the story had been told so often and so well but also because she always felt personally distanced from historical pieces. But after Rater and husband Tony Phelan visited the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, they were inspired to want to tell the story of the woman who hid Anne and her extended Jewish family from the Nazis in the Netherlands in the early 1940s. “But if we were going to do this, I needed it to feel modern and relatable,” she says. “I needed it to feel like something I’d get into.” The result was “A Small Light,” a Nat Geo eight-part limited series that Rater and Phelan served on as creators, showrunners, co-writers and executive producers. It has attracted consistently stellar reviews while dramatizing the courage of a Dutch woman named...

The National Geographic eight-part limited series “A Small Light” (currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+) follows the remarkable true story of Miep Gies, a Dutch woman who risked her life to shelter Anne Frank and her extended Jewish family from the Nazis for more than two years in the early 1940s. It was filmed last year in Prague and Amsterdam, where the Franks were hidden in an area of a structure that came to be known as the Secret Annex. To celebrate the powerful Holocaust drama, check out our special 42-minute “Making of” roundtable discussion with castmates Bel Powley, Billie Boullet and Ashley Brooke as well as costume designer Matthew Simonelli, production designer Marc Homes and makeup and hair designer Davina Lamont. Watch our exclusive video panel interview above.

Powley, who portrays the heroic Gies, discusses how “Small Light” creator-writer-executive producers Tony Phelan and Joan Rater insisted that the period...

This story about Bel Powley and “A Small Light” first appeared in the Limited Series / TV Movies issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

Like so many of us, Bel Powley read “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank when she was in school. But she was less familiar with the woman responsible for the world’s awareness of the diary: Miep Gies. The secretary of Otto Frank, Gies helped hide the Frank family from the Nazis for two years in Amsterdam and kept Anne’s diary safe after the family was arrested in 1945.

“I know a lot about this part of history — the big historical and political backdrop — but I didn’t know anything about Miep or the Dutch resistance,” Powley said. So playing Gies in the National Geographic limited series “A Small Light” was a daunting experience — but also a deeply rewarding one. “It’s so rare...

On May 10, the Directors Guild of America sent a message to members that exemplified the muddled situation in which writer-directors find themselves amid the ongoing writers strike. In the communication, the DGA advised its members that minor script changes — like cutting for time and making small edits to dialogue during production — may be required of writer-directors during the strike if they are working on a project they wrote only in their capacity as a director.

The DGA considers small script changes to typically be part of a director’s workload, and the union’s “no-strike” clause requires it to put a good-faith effort toward requiring members to continue directing during the strike. But the “strike rules” governing what members of the Writers Guild of America can do during its strike mandate something different — that “hyphenates” (writers who are employed in additional roles) are prohibited from performing these “(a) through (h...

A Small Light tells the devastating, familiar Anne Frank story, except from a different perspective, focusing in on the tragedies that befell the Frank family during the Second World War, through the remarkable woman Miep Gies, who risked everything to help keep the family safe in hiding. As such, this new mini-series, which is available to watch now on Disney+, is one that is actually full of hope, finding the good in humanity during a time when it felt like there was no such thing.

To mark the launch we had the pleasure in speaking to the talented leading duo in Bel Powley and Schreiber, as well the brains behind the operation, in creators Tony Phelan, Joan Ratner & Susanne Fogle. You can watch both interviews in their entirety below.

Bel Powley & Liev Schreiber

Tony Phelan, Joan Ratner & Susanna Fogel

Synopsis

Follows the remarkable story of Miep Gies, a Dutch woman...