CBS’s new rookie dramas Fire Country, So Help Me Todd, and East New York have received full-season orders. The network reports Fire Country with SEAL Team‘s Max Thieriot is the #1 new series for the 2022-2023 season. The action drama set in Northern California has been averaging 8.26 million viewers since its launch on October 7, 2022.
East New York starring Amanda Warren and Jimmy Smits is the highest-ranked new program on Sundays with 7.37 million viewers. According to CBS, it’s the top new series among African-American viewers and it’s been among the most-watched new shows on Paramount+.
So Help Me Todd is number one among Thursday’s new shows with 6.48 million viewers.
“CBS is off to a tremendous start this season,” stated Kelly Kahl, president of CBS Entertainment. “We are thrilled to have the three most-watched new series, each with their own unique settings, characters and storylines. These dramas are elevating our already successful lineup, resonating with diverse audiences both on-air and on streaming, and continuing to grow each week.”
Kahl added, “We thank the talented casts, executive producers, and their incredible writing and production teams for bringing these shows to life. Additional kudos to our CBS programming teams for shepherding these series to success. We are delighted to give them well-deserved full-season orders.”
The Fire Country Plot:
Fire Country stars Max Thieriot as 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.
East New York Synopsis:
Amanda Warren stars as Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood, the newly promoted boss of the 74th Precinct in East New York – a working-class neighborhood on the edge of Brooklyn in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification. With family ties to the area, Haywood is determined to deploy creative methods to protect her beloved community with the help of her officers and detectives.
But first, she has the daunting task of getting them on board, as some are skeptical of her promotion, and others resist the changes she is desperate to make. Her team includes her mentor, shrewd veteran two-star Chief John Suarez; Marvin Sandeford, a highly respected training officer and expert on the neighborhood; Tommy Killian, a detective with some old-school approaches to policing; Capt. Stan Yenko, Haywood’s gregarious and efficient right hand; Crystal Morales, an intuitive detective who can’t be intimidated; Andre Bentley, a trainee from an upper-middle-class background; and ambitious patrol officer Brandy Quinlan, the sole volunteer to live in a local housing project as part of Haywood’s plan to bridge the gap between police and community.
Regina Haywood has a vision: she and the squad of the 74th Precinct will not only serve their community – they’ll also become part of it.
So Help Me Todd Plot:
Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin star as razor-sharp, meticulous attorney Margaret Wright (Harden) and Todd (Astin), her talented but scruffy, aimless son whom she hires as her law firm’s in-house investigator. As the black sheep of the well-heeled Wright family, Todd is a laidback, quick-thinking, excellent former private detective who fell on hard times after his flexible interpretation of the law got his license revoked. Margaret’s penchant for excellence and strict adherence to the law is at complete odds with Todd’s scrappy methods of finding his way through sticky situations: by the seat of his wrinkled pants.
When Todd inadvertently teams with his mother on a case, she’s surprised to find herself duly impressed by – and proud of – his crafty ability to sleuth out information with his charm and his wide-ranging tech savvy. At last, Margaret sees a way to put her son on a “suitable” path to living an adult, financially solvent life she approves of, and she asks him to join her firm. Todd agrees since it means getting his license back and once again doing the job he excels at and loves.
Mother and son working together is a big first step toward mending their fragile, dysfunctional relationship, and they may even come away with a better understanding of each other at this pivotal point in their lives. But whether Todd and Margaret will be able to accept each other for who they are is another case entirely.
