Morena Baccarin reveals she initially rejected Sheriff Country: Here’s why she changed her mind and joined the Fire Country spin-off

Sheriff Country marks the first spin-off of CBS’ hit procedural drama Fire Country. The show is going to star Morena Baccarin as Mickey Fox, a Sheriff's Deputy who has to go against her ex-con father while investigating criminal activities in the town of Edgewater.

Baccarin has already debuted the role in an episode of Fire Country, which serves as the backdoor pilot for the spin-off. While audiences are eagerly waiting to see her full-fledged role as Mickey Fox, the actress has revealed that she was not initially willing to star in Sheriff Country.

However, when she had a meeting with Fire Country creators, she was impressed by their vision and fell in love with the character. That is why she ultimately said yes to the offer and decided to star in the spin-off.

Why Morena Baccarin initially rejected Sheriff Country

In an interview with TV Insider, Morena Baccarin revealed that when her agent came up with a proposal of starring in Sheriff Country, she rejected it. The actress thought that network television would be too time-consuming, and she would not be able to take care of her family and kids. She said:

“I had told my agent I’m not doing a network show. I don’t want to work for 10 months out of the year. It’s going to be shot in a different country. I can’t do this. I have three little kids!”

However, the agent convinced her to have a meeting with Fire Country creators Tony Phelan and Joan Rater. When she finally met them, her mind changed within five minutes as she was impressed with the character they had written for her:

“They literally made me fall in love with this character. In the first five minutes of the conversation, they pitched such a complicated, interesting, vulnerable, hard-a** woman that you just don’t see out there.”

The makers also took care of Baccarin’s concerns, as they decided to film Sheriff Country in Toronto instead of Vancouver, where Fire Country is shot. This way, the actress could stay closer to her family in New York. During the interview, Baccarin also talked about how she prepared for her character and said she sought help from real-life officers in New York:

“I was more fascinated by the little things when there’s not much going on. Do you take your belt off when you sit in your office? Things you wouldn’t think about, like when you are writing endless reports, do you take a coffee break? Do you go break it up with, oh, an eviction notice? If you want to make something happen, do you search for people to pull over?”

Baccarin made her debut as Mickey Fox in Fire Country Season 2 Episode 6, Alert the Sheriff, in April 2024. The very next month, CBS gave Sheriff Country a straight-to-series order.

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Apart from Baccarin, the spin-off stars Christopher Gorham as Travis, Amanda Arcuri as Skye, Michele Weaver as Cassidy, W. Earl Brown as Wes Fox, Caroline Rhea as Gina, and Matt Lauria as Boone. Max Thieriot will reprise his role as Bode from the original series and will make guest appearances.

Sheriff Country will premiere on CBS on October 17, 2025.

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