CBS’s Trend-Breaking Franchise Shows The Best Way To Build A Successful Universe
Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV.
While shared universes have become an increasingly familiar strategy in the world of procedural TV, one of CBS' most successful franchises has found the best way to build a successful universe, even with the odds stacked against it. Although CBS is a network that's known for shows that build out entire universes, like the NCIS franchise or the world of FBI, there's one recent franchise that stands out against the rest for its ability to create an interconnected world without the use of excessive crossovers. For Fire Country and Sheriff Country, which stand alone in most ways, the strategy of interconnection is enough to build a strong franchise.
Though Sheriff Country has only been on the air for one season, the way that the series has woven itself into the fabric of the Edgewater universe without becoming a carbon copy of Fire Country is astonishing. The second series, which takes place in the same small Northern California town as its parent show, documents the same sort of first-responder stories, but Sheriff Country stands out on its own in a completely different way than Fire Country. Though Sheriff Country season 2's opener aired prior to Fire Country season 5's premiere, the shows complemented each other, but had no overlap.
Although the separation of the series can, at times, be confusing for viewers when disaster strikes for one team and not the other, Fire Country and Sheriff Country have figured out the best way to build an interconnected universe without being universally dependent on one another.
Sheriff Country & Fire Country Don't Cross Over To Start Their Seasons
Although Sheriff Country and Fire Country have characters, like Mickey Fox (Morena Baccarin) and her stepsister Sharon Leone (Diane Farr), who overlap from show to show in order to carry over storylines, the show's premieres didn't have any connection. Sheriff Country season 2 opened with an episode dedicated to setting up the larger case of the season and resolving the mystery of Mickey's mother, Eva (Rachel Ticotin), who showed up in Edgewater alive and well after she was long-believed to be dead during the season finale. Meanwhile, Fire Country's opener revolved around Edgewater's Founder's Day festivities, which ended in a devastating sinkhole.
While most franchises open their seasons with some sense of crossover between shows, especially when they exist in the same place, the Fire Country franchise's decision to forego that crossover event at the top of the season was the right choice. With both premieres existing independently of one another, the stories were able to root themselves in place to help set their seasons up for success, rather than relying on each other for stability. While the shows are bound to cross over, even as early as their second episodes, having their premieres be independent made for higher quality episodes to kick things off.
The Edgewater Connection Is Enough To Build A Successful Universe
Throughout the first season of Sheriff Country, viewers got the chance to see Mickey appear on Fire Country, and to see the firefighters of Edgewater make their way over to the police department from time to time. While there was likely more crossover than there will be in the coming seasons in order to connect the universes successfully, the fact that both shows were able to establish themselves as independent of one another while sharing a setting was no small feat. The Edgewater connection is a strong one, and the shows have both been able to make sure they echo each other enough for them to stand out.
Even with their connection, however, Fire Country and Sheriff Country are better for the fact that they only share a setting. Being able to stand on their own, both Edgewater shows make it clear that they don't need each other to co-exist. Instead, both shows have fairly different tones, and they make it clear that they don't want to echo each other too closely so they can have their own lane. While there are characters who pop up on both sides of the hour occasionally, both Fire Country and Sheriff Country have paved their own paths, and use their interconnected universe in the best way possible.
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Sheriff Country is a television series that follows the daily life and duties of law enforcement officials in a rural American county. The show documents the challenges and triumphs of the local sheriff's department as they tackle crime, maintain order, and serve their community.
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Fire Country follows Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption by joining a firefighting program in his Northern California hometown. Working alongside elite firefighters, Donovan and fellow inmates strive to control massive wildfires in the region while navigating personal challenges and community dynamics.
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