Why CBS’ New Firefighter Drama Acquired Cancelled ‘Magnum P.I.’ Time Slot

Solely twice up to now 10 years had CBS scheduled a freshman drama for the tip of the week — the newest occasion being MacGyver, which referred to as Friday house for 5 seasons.

This fall, CBS will do it once more, when the firefighter drama Fireplace Nation claims the cancelled Magnum P.I.‘s time slot, hammocked between rock regular S.W.A.T. and the long-running Blue Bloods (which constantly cops the night time’s largest viewers).

Hailing from prolific producer Jerry Bruckheimer and impressed by SEAL Crew vet Max Thieriot’s real-life experiences rising up in Northern California fireplace nation, the brand new collection stars Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a younger convict looking for redemption and a shortened jail sentence by becoming a member of an unconventional jail launch firefighting program in Northern California, the place he and different inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish huge, unpredictable wildfires throughout the area.

“It’s a high-risk, high-reward project,” the synopsis tells us, “and the warmth is turned up when Bode is assigned to this system in his rural hometown, the place he was as soon as a golden all-American son till his troubles started.” 5 years in the past, Bode burned down every part in his life, leaving city with a giant secret. Now he’s again, with the rap sheet of a legal and the audacity to imagine in an opportunity for redemption through Cal Fireplace.

The Fireplace Nation solid additionally boasts Billy Burke (Zoo), Kevin Alejandro (Lucifer), Diane Farr (Rescue Me), Stephanie Arcila (Penny Dreadful: Metropolis of Angels), Jordan Calloway (Black Lightning) and Jules Latimer (Responsible Social gathering).

Explaining Fireplace Nation‘s freshman time slot, CBS Leisure president Kelly Kahl advised TVLine, “To be sincere, it felt like a Friday present, in a great way. It’s not ‘blue sky,’ it’s obtained a smoky sky, but it surely’s out of doors and it’s large and it simply sort of looks like an end-of-week, Friday-night present.”

And one that ought to pair properly with each Friday’s dependable leadoff hitter and the night time’s most watched program on any community. “Once you put it between S.W.A.T. and Blue Bloods…. We have been comfortable we may help it with a lead-in,” Kahl famous, “and thematically it felt proper with these different exhibits.”

Talking of Fireplace Nation‘s lead-in, Kahl can also be happy to have Hondo, Deacon et al again holding down the fort on Fridays, after a half-season stint within the Sundays-at-10 spot, as soon as SEAL Crew relocated to Paramount+.

“They have been nice troopers after we wanted them on Sunday,” Kahl stated, “however we additionally knew [S.W.A.T.] did nicely on Friday, so we’re comfortable to be bringing them house.”

Need scoop on any of the above? E mail InsideLine@tvline.com and your query could also be answered through Matt’s Inside Line.