EXCLUSIVE: Once Upon A Time alumna Rebecca Mader is set for a key recurring role in the upcoming second season of CBS’ drama series Fire Country. Additionally, Kanoa Goo (The Rookie) has been cast in the series starring Max Thieriot.
In the drama series, Thieriot portrays Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining a prison release firefighting program in Northern California, where he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires across the region. It’s a high-risk, high-reward assignment, and the heat is turned up when Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown, where he was once a golden all-American son – until his troubles began. Five years ago, Bode burned down everything in his life, leaving town with a big secret. Now he’s back, with the rap sheet of a criminal and the audacity to believe in a chance for redemption with Cal Fire.
Mader will play Faye. Smart, stunning, funny and rich, Faye is the head of a private concierge firefighting company, and when she meets Manny (Kevin Alejandro) at an AA meeting, there’s a romantic spark. Faye wants to recruit him for her firm and a romantic fling. Manny likes his job, but doesn’t much like being alone, so Faye will have to settle for achieving fifty per cent of her goals.
Goo will play Kyle, a swim Adonis, who has arrived to attend a swim clinic. He knows Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) well enough to tease her, and appears interested in acting as Bode’s new romantic rival. Gabriela definitely regards Kyle as a trusted friend, but he looks suspiciously like he’s trying to nudge his way into her heart.
Fire Country, from Jerry Bruckheimer Television and CBS Studios, is inspired by Thieriot’s experiences growing up in fire country and stems from an original idea by the actor, who also co-penned the story for the pilot with its writers, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater.
Mader is maybe best known for her role as Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West, on ABC’s Once Upon a Time. She also starred on the ABC comedy series Work It and co-starred on the network’s drama series Lost. Her film credits include The Devil Wears Prada and Iron Man 3. Mader is repped by Innovative Artists.
Goo recurs as Assistant District Attorney Chris Sanford on ABC’s hit police procedural The Rookie. On the film side, he starred alongside Constance Wu in the Sundance-premiering indie, I Was a Simple Man and recently started shooting the indie Chaperone, written and directed by Zoë Eisenberg in her solo feature debut. Goo is repped by Artists & Representatives and Entertainment 360.