Chicago Fire, Fire Country, 911, Station 19
Credit: Getty ImagesThe Best Firefighter Shows in 2023
As we’ve learned from watching firefighters on-screen and in real life, they risk their lives every day to save others. It’s a life-threatening job – and the shows’ writers have not shied away from killing off characters to emphasize that very fact. But aside from the dangerous situations they face regularly, we’ve fallen in love with the characters and storylines of our favorite firefighter dramas.
Some firefighter shows, like Dick Wolf’s highly-rated drama Chicago Fire on NBC, have been on the air for more than a decade. Due to the overwhelming success of Chicago Fire, the number of firefighter-centered primetime series increased drastically since 2018. More networks, including CBS, ABC and FOX, have invested in firefighter shows that have quickly gained loyal fanbases. We’ve rounded up the best firefighter TV shows in 2023, from Chicago Fire and Fire Country to Station 19. Keep reading to learn more about each show and how to watch.
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Chicago Fire (2012 – Present)
When it comes to the best firefighter TV shows in 2023, NBC’s Chicago Fire is hands down a fan favorite. The Dick Wolf-produced drama premiered in 2012 and has been on TV for over a decade. The success of the procedural even inspired the first responder spin-offs Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. Chicago Fire follows the personal and professional lives of firefighters and paramedics at the Chicago Fire Department’s fictional Firehouse 51 in Chicago, Illinois. The show currently stars Taylor Kinney, Eamonn Walker, David Eigenberg, Joe Minoso, Christian Stolte, Kara Killmer and more. Despite developing a strong following over the years, the show’s no stranger to killing beloved characters off in dramatic cliffhangers. We’ve had to say goodbye to firefighters and paramedics alike over CF‘s 11-year run.
The show’s writers have previously stated that they’ve had to kill characters off to remind the audience how dangerous the job is. For example, when deciding to kill Otis in Season 8, showrunner Derek Haas described the moment with his head writers. “We were talking, we just said, ‘We gotta put some teeth back into the show, and we gotta show that the dangers are real,’” Haas told TV Line in September 2019. “I called Dick Wolf and I said, ‘We’re thinking about killing off Otis, and I probably talked to him and [Wolf Entertainment President and executive producer] Peter Jankowski for an hour. Dick, who draws on more experience than anyone in the world, said, ‘As long as you’re honest with the storytelling, the audience will go with you.’ So that was it.”
Fire Country (2022 – Present)
The new firefighter show to watch is Fire Country, CBS’ freshman drama that just wrapped up its first season. Season 1 proved to be a success – Fire Country quickly became a top 10 series on Paramount Plus and joined CBS’ 10 million-plus viewers club. Max Thieriot created the series and stars as Bode Donovan (Bode Leone), a young convict who was sentenced to armed robbery. To lower his sentence, he joins the inmate firefighter program and finds out that it’s based in his small hometown of Edgewater in Northern California. The show follows firefighters at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (also known as Cal Fire), as well as Sullivan and the inmates who participate in the effort to reduce their prison time. The show was already renewed for a second season, which will premiere on CBS in the fall of 2023.
In an interview with Pop Culture in October 2022, Thieriot explained why Fire Country isn’t your typical firefighter show. “I think that people will see that Fire Country is different from any firefighting show on television. We’re not rescue of the week. We’re not fire of the week. First of all, this department is an all-risk department. So we’re not just going to be fighting wildland fires, which obviously is something that they’re most known for,” Thieriot explained. “They respond to every call, every situation, anytime somebody picks up 911, they’re there. And so we’ll be showing the full scope of what firefighters do on the job. And then the big thing is this is really a serialized character drama. So it has a lot of those amazing elements that you get from whatever, it’s cable or whatever shows they are, where you’re really getting to invest in these characters and explore their journey.”
9-1-1 (2018 – Present)
Another well-known firefighter procedural starring big-name actors is 9-1-1. Although FOX decided not to renew 9-1-1 because of the show’s high production costs, it was the network’s highest-rated scripted series. 9-1-1 was picked up by ABC, who will take over the series for Season 7. Starring Peter Krause and Angela Bassett, 9-1-1 is a great watch if you’re interested in learning about the inner workings of all first responders, including police officers, paramedics, firefighters and dispatchers. The success of 9-1-1 even inspired the Rob Lowe-led spin-off: 9-1-1: Lone Star, which is located in Austin, Texas.
Murphy explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2018 that the idea for 9-1-1 came from a conversation he had with Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden. “The reason she wanted to hire me and meet with me was because she loved Nip/Tuck. We bonded on how much we loved those unusual, bizarro cases that are sorta plucked from the headlines,” Murphy said. “About a year ago, she said, ‘Would you ever consider try doing a procedural that had that plucked from the headlines, adrenaline rush, bizarro element to it but really at its core was about the bravery of first responders.’ I said, ‘OK, let’s try it.’”
9-1-1: Lone Star (2020 – Present)
If you like 9-1-1, then you have to check out its Texas-based spinoff, 9-1-1: Lone Star. Centered around the fictional Station 126 in Austin, Texas, the FOX procedural stars Rob Lowe as Owen Strand. Strand is the captain of Station 126 and a former firefighter from New York City who was diagnosed with lung cancer as a result of being a first responder to the September 11 attacks, in which he lost his whole firehouse. He relocated to Austin with his son to save people’s lives and figure out his old problems. Strand is also the father of Tyler Kennedy “TK” Strand, who is also a firefighter at Station 126 and a recovering opioid addict. Actress Liv Tyler played Michelle Blake, an EMS captain and paramedic, in the show’s first season. In addition to Lowe and Blake, the show also stars Ronen Rubinstein, Sierra McClain, Jim Parrack, Natacha Karam and more.
In an interview with Assignment X in 2020, 9-1-1: Lone Star creator Tim Minear and executive producer Rashad Raisini explained why they wanted to set the spin-off in Texas. “I’m from Texas, and I grew up a brown person in Texas, and so this show has a particular resonance for me, because I think, as people were talking about, there’s a lot of preconceptions about people in Texas, and how they react to people of color, and people of different religious backgrounds, and political backgrounds,” Raisini said. “And I think there’s always some truth to stereotypes. So we play that, we don’t shy away from that, but the most important thing about this show is about people, as they do in Texas, and everywhere, and as I hope that we do more as a country, is putting aside our political differences, or our cultural differences, for the greater good, which is what all of these first responders do every day.”
Station 19 (2018 – Present)
The second spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy (following Private Practice), Station 19 highlights the firefighters at Seattle Fire Station 19 in Seattle, Washington. The show, executive produced by Shonda Rhimes, premiered in 2018 and stars Jaina Lee Ortiz as Andrea “Andy” Herrera, a lieutenant at Station 19 and the stubborn daughter of Captain Pruitt Herrera. The show also features Dr. Benjamin “Ben” Warren, a surgical resident at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and Dr. Miranda Bailey’s husband who left Grey’s Anatomy in Season 13 to join Station 19 and become a firefighter.
Stacy Mckee, the Station 19 showrunner for Seasons 1 and 2, revealed to TV Line in March 2018 why they decided to do a firefighter spinoff. “I had a long list of possibilities. I went in to talk to Shonda [Rhimes] and Betsy [Beers] with the list in my hand, but the first one I pitched was firefighters and we never got to the rest of them.” Mckee added that the existence of Chicago Fire wasn’t a concern for them at all. “No, not even a little. There are a million medical shows; there can be a million fire shows. If the shows are compelling, why not have more than one? It was never a concern. I just knew the [firefighter] world would work really well in conjunction with the already established world of Grey’s Anatomy.”
LA Fire & Rescue (2023)
In June 2023, NBC and Wolf Entertainment will be launching a new firefighter show: LA Fire & Rescue. Unlike Chicago Fire, which is a fictional show that follows firefighters in Chicago’s Firehouse 51, this new nonfiction series will document the real-life stories of firefighters in the frontlines of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The timing of LA Fire & Rescue’s premiere comes as One Chicago and the Law & Order shows are on break for summer vacation.
“From the producers of NBC’s hit drama Chicago Fire comes LA Fire & Rescue, a new docuseries offering unprecedented access to the inner workings of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Responsible for protecting the lives and property of four million residents living in 59 cities across Los Angeles County, the LACoFD’s 2,300 square miles of service is unlike any other in the United States,” the show’s synopsis reads. “From helicopter mountain rescues and lifeguard beach SOS, to fireboats, hazmat units and California’s raging wildfires, the department does it all. The series documents real calls and real drama while giving faces to the passionate fire firefighters who risk their lives in the name of service. These real-life heroes and their compelling stories are told alongside the unpredictable dangers they face on the front lines of life and death.”
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