CBS Picks Up Dramas Fire Country, East New York, and So Help Me Todd to Series
Carissa Pavlica
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CBS is changing focus.
After brutally slaying a good portion of their comedy lineup and Magnum PI, the network announced three drama pickups.
They've picked up none of the comedies they had under consideration.
The best news of the day by a long margin is that CBS formally picked up Fire Country (formerly known as Cal Fire) from CBS Studios.
This series has been exciting our readers since it was first announced, and we couldn't agree more. This one comes from SEAL Team's Max Thieriot, who co-wrote the story and serves as an executive producer.
It's co-written by executive producers Tony Phelan & Joan Rater (Grey's Anatomy, A Council of Dads). Other EPs include James Strong (pilot only), David Grae, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, and KristieAnne Reed (Jerry Bruckheimer Television)
The official logline is: Seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence, young convict Bode Donovan joins a firefighting program that returns him to his small Northern California hometown, where he and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region.
Inspired by Max Thieriot’s experiences growing up in northern California fire country.
Thieriot stars with Billy Burke, Kevin Alejandro, Diane Farr, Stephanie Arcila, Jordan Calloway, Jules Latimer
Up next is a legal drama focusing on a mother and son, starring Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin, titled So Help Me Todd from CBS Studios.
Harden previously headlined the network's medical drama, Code Black.
Showrunners are Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro, with Scott Prendergast writing and executive producing. Other EPs include Phil McGraw, Jay McGray, and Julia Eisenman (Stage 29 Productions).
Here's the official logline:
Despite their opposing personalities, a talented but directionless P.I. who is the black sheep of his family begrudgingly agrees to work as the in-house investigator for his overbearing mother, a successful attorney reeling from the recent dissolution of her marriage.
Other cast members include Madeline Wise, Tristen J. Winger, Inga Schlingmann, and Rosa Arredondo
East New York, from Warner Brothers Television, was also picked up.
This series comes from William Finkelstein and Mike Flynn with director, Michael M. Robin (Skyemac Productions). All three also executive produce. Other EPs include Christine Holder, Mark Holder (Wonder Street), and Andrew Maher (Skyemac).
The official logline is: Regina Haywood is the newly promoted deputy inspector of East New York, a working-class neighborhood at the edge of Brooklyn.
She leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are reluctant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification.
The cast includes Amanda Warren, Kevin Rankin, Jimmy Smits, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Richard Kind, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Lavel Schley, and Olivia Luccardi
True Lies, from 20th Century Television, is still an outlier, but the Early Edition reboot is not going forward at the network.
How excited are you for Fire Country?
Will you tune in to East New York and So Help Me Todd?
Don't hold back. We want to hear from you!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
