FIRE COUNTRY
Role: Vince Leone
Premiere: 10.7.2022
Watch on: CBS, Paramount+, Global, StackTV, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Prime Video
TRAILER
Twitter Q&A
synopsis
Five years ago, Bode Donovan burned down everything in his life, leaving his small Northern California hometown 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. Bode and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region. The show is inspired by star and executive producer Max Thieriot’s growing up in a fire-prone area of Northern California. Billy Burke, Kevin Alejandro, Diane Farr, Stephanie Arcila, Jordan Calloway and Jules Latimer round out the cast.
role
Burke plays Vince Leone, Bode’s father. A lovable pessimist, Vince is third-generation Cal Fire and the fire chief of the community of Edgewater. A strong man who has fought many fires in his time, Vince is not about to give up and give in when a fire threatens to sweep into his town. “He’s the lovable dad, except he’s the lovable dad whose bad side you don’t want to be on and who is really passionate about what he does and the service he provides for the people,” Billy said during the virtual CBS news conference for the show. “He’s a totally different dude and one that I can’t say that I’ve ever really played before. So that was very attractive to me.” But it was not the only thing: “[The show’s depiction of rural forest firefighters] was definitely one of the first things that drew me to the show. I thought the subject matter was really compelling, and I hadn’t seen it before dramatized on network television.”
Vince is married to Sharon (Diane Farr), who happens to be a firefighter as well. “Billy and I have been at this for so long, we negotiate our scenes,” said Farr. “I usually want more emotional stuff and he wants a little more action and we literally negotiate, ‘OK, if you kiss me here, I’ll do that thing you asked for.’ Like, we barter for who’s going to give what.” “I’m going to go ahead and let you guess who wins most of those negotiations,” Billy joked after that!
release
reviews
It’s really fun getting to work with someone who’s dedicated and fun and really not a morning person.– Diane Farr, TCA22 via The Seattle Times
I’ve had lots of partners on TV but Billy Burke may be my favorite to fight with.– Diane Farr, Instagram
Sometimes he looks at me like we’ve been married 25 years and it leaves me to question my entire way of living.
-Diane Farr,Twitter
Billy Burke as Edgewater battalion chief Vince Leone makes a solid impression.
– Mr. Anderson, The Wall Street Journal
He was a joy to work with. And his work on the episode is very moving. He’s the best.
– Bob Frazer, guest star in episode 1×08, Facebook
I recently had the pleasure of working with the very talented Billy Burke, he had a huge amout of heavy dialogue and handled it with total grace, making it look easy. And trust me I don’t think I made it too easy for him. That guy is Solid.
– Kaare Anderson, guest star in episode 1×09, Facebook
Billy Burke in that 2nd to last scene tho. Masterclass.
– Sarah Wayne Callies, director of episode 1×09, Twitter
episodes
(Click on each title to view the episode’s synopsis, promotional stills, sneak peeks, trailers and more)
Season 1
season 2
2×06 Alert The Sheriff
2×07 A Hail Mary
2×08 It’s Not Over
2×09 No Future, No Consequences
2×10 I Do
promo pictures
Ph. Bettina Strauss, James Minchin & Lindsay Siu / CBS
BTS pictures – season 1
Photos shared by the cast and crew on their social media accounts. Official pictures by Bettina Strauss and Sergei Bachlakov for CBS.
BTS pictures – season 2
Photos shared by the cast and crew on their social media accounts. Official pictures by CBS.
bts videos and interviews
Copyright CBS
