Land of Fire is no stranger to controversy. The hit CBS drama has been the target of fan backlash several times, but that hasn’t stopped it from delivering consistently entertaining stories. The upcoming season brings new controversy following the revelation that fan-favorite character Vince Leone (Billy Burke) no longer exists. “I was surprised,” series star and co-creator Max Thieriot told Collider Cristina Rabanete about the decision to reveal the death in the season trailer.
Although the answer to Season 3’s biggest question has already been revealed, Thieriot explained that everything was done out of respect for the character. “You’re not just trying to use the death of a central character as a cliffhanger and a gimmick. There’s a weird fine line there,” he explained. But who decided it was time for Vince to die? “I think it was a large group decision. A decision like this is not easy for anyone. It’s so complex and it’s a process,” Thieriot said. He continued:
“No one is above the show and everything is for the greater good of the show itselfwhat makes the show better and what allows us to take these stories even further and create good television, good drama and character growth. It was a long process to reach this conclusion. I don’t know if there was one person who said, ‘This is what we need to do.’ But eventually it became clear to everyone and the writing was on the wall that this was how things would probably go and probably should go.”
Killing off Vince wasn’t an easy decision for ‘Fire Country’
The death of a character as central to the narrative and to the lives of other characters as Vince causes a ripple effect. Furthermore, it is not easy to make a decision that affects someone with whom everyone has a close relationship. “It was also a strange and difficult conversation to have because Billy is so loved and an amazing actor and scene partner. This crew loves him. He really is like a family member and a father figure on set. The hardest thing is separating the personal from the professional part of everything, especially because you spend a lot of time with these people every day. […] For me, the hardest thing to digest was not working with this guy every day. I think it was difficult for everyone,” said Thieriot.
However, making difficult choices is part of life, but what matters is how they are made. To Land of Fireit was important to remain faithful to the character even in his final moments. “No one knows the risks of this job better than the firefighters and what their families can go through. It was important to show that he not only truly cared about this community and fighting fires, but at the heart of it, He cared more about his family. This was the center of his world. So we had to show that he was willing to put his own life on the line for those people, for everyone and everything he believed in and stood for and everything he loved,” Thieriot explained. As for how the show will honor Vince going forward, he explained:
“We also feel it was very important to have a big and impactful scene, returning in the season, this represented how much this character and this figure in this city is loved and how important he was. It’s multifaceted and it’s difficult. Moving forward, you’re constantly thinking, ‘Okay, How do we continue to honor this character? How can we continue to find growth and story for all these characters moving forward and what they all go through and what this community goes through in losing this figure?’ We have to find a way to make it a central part of this season without making the central focus of the season be grief. It’s that fine line between those two things. I think the writers are doing a great job.”
Land of Fire returns on CBS on Friday, October 17th. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release date
October 7, 2022
Presenter
Aunt Napolitano
Writers
Tia Napolitano, David Gould, Natalia Fernandez, Barbara Kaye Friend, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Dwain Worrell, Julia Fontana, Sara Casey, Manuel Herrera, Jen Klein, Anupam Nigam, Tonya Kong
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