‘Sheriff Country’ Review: ‘Fire Country’ Spinoff Is a Flat, Formulaic Small-Town Cop Drama

CBS’s latest series, “Sheriff Country,” aims to build on the success of “Fire Country,” but critics say the new spinoff struggles to capture the same energy.

Created by Matt Lopez and executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the series follows a familiar small-town cop formula that fails to bring anything fresh to the screen.

Since 2012, producer Dick Wolf has proven that first-responder franchises can dominate primetime television, thanks to the success of his Chicago universe. CBS, hoping to mirror that formula, launched “Sheriff Country” as the first spinoff from “Fire Country,” which is entering its fourth season. But while the idea seemed promising, the execution has left critics cold.

“Sheriff Country” takes place in the same fictional town of Edgewater, California (though shot in Canada), where the events of “Fire Country” unfold. Despite sharing the same setting, the show introduces mostly new characters, with only Max Thieriot and Diane Farr from the original series making brief appearances. The story centers on Mickey Fox (played by Morena Baccarin), the acting sheriff who took over after her boss’s death and now finds herself juggling personal struggles, community pressure, and a string of crimes that test her leadership.

Mickey, who was previously married into the Leone family from “Fire Country,” is introduced in a tense standoff scene where she defuses a confrontation between two armed brothers. The tone – a blend of forced humor and uneven action – sets the stage for what becomes a tonally inconsistent series. Critics describe it as “a generically conceived, limply executed take on small-town law enforcement.”

Throughout the first four episodes, the series attempts to balance small-town character drama with crime procedural elements. Mickey deals with her rebellious daughter Skye (Amanda Arcuri), a recovering addict entangled in her boyfriend’s mysterious death, and her father Wes (W. Earl Brown), a reformed outlaw known as the “patron saint of Edgewater outlaws.” However, their relationships feel underdeveloped, with the dialogue often reduced to clichés about “loving this town” and “being too close to the job.”

The show introduces several “villains of the week” – including a bizarre subplot involving pot farmers enslaving students – that come off as exaggerated and disconnected from the show’s supposed emotional core. A storyline about the opioid crisis is touched upon but lacks the depth or realism needed to make it resonate.

Despite its promising cast, including Michele Weaver as Deputy Cassidy and Matt Lauria as Boone, “Sheriff Country” doesn’t manage to distinguish its characters from countless other police dramas. Even Baccarin, known for her strong performances in shows like Homeland and Firefly, is weighed down by flat writing and predictable arcs.

“Sheriff Country” clearly aims to build a broader “Fire Country” universe, much like NBC’s One Chicago franchise, but it lacks the spark that made its predecessor work. The pacing feels slow, the conflicts lack emotional gravity, and the sense of community that “Fire Country” thrived on feels absent.

The series premieres this week on CBS and Paramount+ at 9 p.m. ET, with future episodes airing Fridays at 8 p.m. ET. Whether it will find its footing as the season progresses remains to be seen, but for now, “Sheriff Country” feels more like a missed opportunity than a franchise-defining hit.

Watch ‘Sheriff Country’ on CBS and Paramount+ starting this Friday.