According to Deadline, CBS is finding creative ways to deal with the problem of being so successful. Hit shows like Fire Country, NCIS: Origins, NCIS: Sydney, and Matlock have been hit with reduced episode counts to make way for new pilots like Cupertino, NCIS: New York, starring rapper and actor superstar LL Cool J (Deep Blue Sea, NCIS: Hawai’i), and Einstein.
With so many shows easily hitting the renewal ratings threshold, CBS doesn’t want to cancel any hits or leave new shows on the back burner. Instead, they are cutting out filler episodes to make room for a season jampacked full of shows that will not air through the season’s entirety.
Moving towards this shorter model will see Fire Country drop down from its 20 episodes last season to only 13 episodes in the upcoming season. Joining in with a slimmed-down schedule are NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney, now only composed of 10 episodes each. The third episode of Matlock, which will be looking to begin a new arc, is now only scheduled for a 13-episode run.
To shake things up even further for Fire Country, a change in leadership for the upcoming fifth season has also been confirmed. Exiting will be the architect of the show, Tia Napolitano (Cruel Summer, Council of Dads), who worked with Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19) and provided the soapy character arcs and high stakes action. In her absence, the show will take Eric Guggenheim (Magnum P.I., Hawaii Five-O) as the showrunner. His experience managing large casts and outdoor action sequences makes him a shoo-in for the position. Although fans can expect a bit of a departure from the previous seasons, as the veteran showrunner is now working with a smaller format and is known for focusing more on the procedural side of the show. This leaves the upcoming season set to lean more into the technical and tactical aspects of firefighting.