‘Fire Country’ Dethroned by Its More Popular Spin-Off With Just 12 Episodes

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Max Thieriot as Bode Leone standing in front of a fire truck in his gear in Fire Country Season 4

Published Mar 14, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

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Spin-offs get the reputation of not being as good as the original show, but on rare occasions, they match or outdo their predecessors. Better Call Saul, NCIS, and The Simpsons all started as spin-offs of other popular shows but have surpassed their predecessors. A recent entrant to that category is Sheriff Country, the offshoot of CBS' popular procedural Fire Country. The first season of the Morena Baccarin-led series has been received positively, with critics rating it 75% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes compared to Fire Country's first season, which scored 44%. Additionally, recent ratings and streaming data show Sheriff County's growing parity with Fire Country.

Both shows air on Fridays, and recent CBS ratings show that the spin-off is beating the mothership series in raw numbers. The police drama is the number-one program of the night on CBS, leading Friday nights with 5.3 million viewers for its midseason premiere on February 27. Fire Country came second with 4.04 million viewers, close to a million fewer viewers than the spin-off. Also airing that night is Blue Bloods' new spin-off, Boston Blue, which drew 3.95 million viewers. Additionally, the series maintains a significant lead in streaming, with FlixPatrol data showing a wide margin between Sheriff Country and Fire Country on SVOD and PVOD services. CBS' own streaming data puts Sheriff Country as the fourth-most-watched series on CBS in Live + 35 Days ratings, with 11.09 million viewers. Fire Country does not make the top ten.

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What Is 'Sheriff Country' About?

Sheriff Country is a law enforcement procedural series inspired by Fire Country. The show follows Mickey Fox (Baccarin), the sheriff of the Northern California town of Edgewater. It explores an unseen side of the town — a darker side riddled with crime. Mickey has friends and family all over Edgewater, which makes law enforcement more challenging. She is a half-sister to Sharon Leone (Diane Farr) from Fire Country and has a daughter named Skye (Amanda Arcuri). Her father, Wes Fox (W. Earl Brown), has a criminal history that keeps rearing its head, making Mickey's job harder. Sheriff Country was renewed for Season 2, set to premiere in the 2026-2027 TV season. Other cast members include Matt Lauria (Nathan), Christopher Gorham (Travis), and Michele Weaver (Cassidy).