'Fire Country' Writers Tease Bode's Return to Prison in Season 2

Max Thieriot as Bode in 'Fire Country'

Fire Country ended its first season on several cliffhangers, the big one being what will become of Bode Donovan (Max Thieriot) now that he's confessed to a crime he didn't commit, landing himself back in prison.

Parade spoke with co-creators and executive producers Tony Phelan and Joan Rater for insight into just that. "We wanted to show this: What was Bode like in prison?" Rater offered.

"He made that big sacrifice for Freddy, and now he finds himself back in the general prison population," Phelan added. "What is his North Star? What is he living for now? How is Bode going to survive in there? How is he mentally and physically keeping himself together, and I think for all of the fans, how can he get back to Edgewater?"

Related: What to Know About 'Fire Country' Season 2

Back home, Bode's friends and family will be grappling with his decision in their own ways. Gabby, for instance, will be refocusing her energy on her own goals and achievements. "One thing we talked about in the writers' room was that we wanted to remind ourselves that Gabby, before she was a firefighter, was an Olympian. She was used to being on top," Rater said. "We talked about getting back to some of that bad-ss girl who wants to rack up the medals."

If there are two people left shattered by Bode's choice, it's his parents, Vince and Sharon, who each had strong responses to finding out their son would be returning to prison. As Phelan pointed out, the pair also had opposite reactions to the news, and that's something that will still be apparent in Season 2.

"I think Sharon is grappling with not only seeing her son go back to prison but really questioning, 'Did I have something to do with this? Is the way that I and Bode interact, and the way I treat him, and the way I'm so obsessed with him and his safety—did I help him by doing that, or did I hurt him by doing that?'"

"And I think for all parents who deal with kids, especially kids who are somewhat troubled, that's something that you grapple with every day," he added.

Related: Is 'Fire Country' Based on a True Story?

On top of Bode's return to prison, Vince and Sharon are also dealing with her medical condition and the donor kidney from Vince's brother Luke.

"In episode 1, everybody's job and personal life has been thrown up in the air and has come down in a different place," Phelan shared. "And so I think all of those character interactions are going to be somewhat different because a big event happened at the end of last year and we see the fallout from it."

As for whether there will be a time jump when the series returns (after all, the season was delayed for months by the Hollywood strikes), Phelan doesn't answer directly, but offers this: "I think what we can safely say without any spoilers is, as the writing staff, we're committed to kind of mixing up every expectation that the audience has about our characters, so that when we come into Season 2, it might take everybody a little while to get their bearings."

Fire Country returns on Friday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

Next, Is a 'Fire Country' Spinoff in the Works? Everything You Need to Know