“SEAL Team” star Max Thieriot has signed on for the lead role in the CBS drama pilot “Cal Fire,” Variety has learned.
It was previously reported that Thieriot co-wrote the story for the series, which is inspired by his life growing up in northern California. He will also serve as an executive producer. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, the hope is that Thieriot will be able to star in “Cal Fire” as well as “SEAL Team” should the former get picked up to series.
“Cal Fire” follows young convict Bode Donovan (Thieriot), who joins a firefighting program that returns him to his small Northern California hometown, where he and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region. The character is further described as having the soul of an artist, the rap sheet of a criminal, and the audacity to believe in a second chance with Cal Fire.
Tony Phelan and Joan Rater also co-wrote the story for the pilot in addition to writing the teleplay. They will also executive produce. Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed of Jerry Bruckheimer Television will executive produce as well. CBS Studios will produce.
Thieriot currently stars on “SEAL Team,” which was recently renewed for a sixth season at Paramount Plus after having aired its first four seasons on CBS. He has also directed two episodes of that series and an episode of “Bates Motel,” on which he also starred. “Cal Fire” would mark the first time he has written for television.
He is repped by Gersh and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.