Fire Country Star, EP Talk Kane Brown’s Acting Debut and the Final, Twisty Episodes That Close Out Season 1 | CPT PPP Coverage

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Fire Country and Kane Brown aim to make beautiful music together, as the country superstar makes his acting debut this Friday at 9/8c on CBS’ freshman hit.

In this season’s 18th episode (of 22), titled “Off the Rails,” the two crews respond to the scene of a train crash where the rescue has the potential to spiral out of control, after they discover the train is full of illicit cargo. Within that story, Brown guest-stars as Robin, an enigmatic, modern-day train hopper who winds up helping injured passengers. (Watch a promo above.)

Recounting the casting coup for TVLine, Fire Country star and executive producer Max Thieriot hails Brown as “a really wonderful, sweet dude who wanted to try his hand at acting, which is something he’s wanted to do for along time — but obviously he has a super busy schedule these days!”

Showrunner Tia Napolitano in turn tells TVLine, “We all agreed that we wanted to work with Kane. He is all the wonderful things Max said, and then it was just a matter of working with his schedule. And we wrote this part for him, because we wanted a part that stood out, a part that hadn’t seen before on the show, and something that was a gentle entry into the world of acting. It was very much designed for him.”

Fire Country showrunner Tia Napolitano (CBS)

Napolitano says that while Amy Osler, EVP of Music for CBS Television Studios, had been pitching possible collaborations all season long, “I don’t think we ever thought we’d get someone as big as Kane Brown, so now the sky’s the limit! And it was really the perfect combination.”

As Thieriot notes, “We have a big, rural, outdoorsy audience, a lot of country music fans. And I know a lot of folks who are firefighters who listen to country music. Country music tells a story, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Neither Thieriot nor Napolitano would confirm if Brown also sings during his visit. (“I don’t know if we’re giving away spoilers,” the former says with a wink.) Instead, Thieriot stresses that Brown’s guest spot was not a “Come in and do a cameo, stunt-casted thing.”

“Kane was super-respectful of what we do, and he really wanted to be there to act, and learn, and understand the process,” Thieriot says. “It’s a really cool thing to see somebody embrace it like that.”

Looking down the road, to the season’s final four episodes that follow Brown’s appearance….

Napolitano teases that “by the end of the season, we turn everything on its head. It’s full circle from the pilot, and I think it will feel very satisfying but also incredibly unexpected.

“We’ve got so many twists and turns,” the showrunner continues, “and the episode that Max directed [airing May 12] has the most practical fire we’ve ever had, so it’s going to feel thrilling.”

And as for the heat between Bode and Gabriella (played by Stephanie Arcila) — can the would-be couple really abstain until he is a free man? — Napolitano will only say, “You’re going to have to tune in and find out, but there is chemistry left and right with those two. And it will keep building and building.”

The CBS hit’s freshman finale, airing May 19, revolves around “an event like you’ve never seen before on this show,” Napolitano previews, “and the culmination of all this character drama we’ve been building” includes “a new escalation in Bode’s journey…. It’s an incredibly satisfying way to end a roller coaster of a season.”

Will said season finale leave viewers wondering, “What happens next?”… or “WTF just happened?”…?

“Both,” Thieriot avows, adding: “It’s not easy to do 22 episodes. It’s a long road to be mapping out, but you’re going to feel every different emotion in the last few episodes. And at the end, for me as a viewer, it’s going to leave you wanting more.”

Want scoop on Fire Country, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.