Fire Country Season 5 Cast Shake-Up: A Look at All the Exits From the CBS Drama

Leven Rambin played Audrey James, an ex-con and Cal Fire probie, in a recurring role on the CBS drama. She officially left Fire Country during Season 4 and is not reprising her role for Season 5. But why did she leave? In a July TikTok video, Rambin explained, “A lot of you have asked, why did I leave Fire Country? I hope that it’s clear now why I left. I knew I wanted to start my family,” before adding, “I felt like I need[ed] to devote some time to this in my life.” Rambin also teased a possible return, saying, “We ended on very good terms, and maybe I could pop back in one day.”

Stephanie Arcila starred as Gabriela Perez, a Cal Fire EMT and firefighter. She exited the show at the end of Season 3. The Season 4 premiere explained her departure, revealing that she had left Edgewater to take a new job touring the country to recruit firefighters for Cal Fire. In a 2025 Deadline interview, creator Joan Rater explained the decision to write Perez out of the storyline, saying, “It really just comes down to what’s the best creatively.” In a separate Deadline interview, Arcila discussed the possibility of her character returning in the future. “I never say never,” she noted, adding, “Life takes us through so many avenues, and Gabriela is such a gift to me in my career, personally and professionally... As for the future, I've learned that these writers always surprise me, and I have no expectations, just excitement.”

Billy Burke’s return is also unlikely, as his character’s death was officially confirmed in the Season 4 premiere. He portrayed Vince Leone, a Cal Fire battalion chief who died from injuries sustained during a building collapse in the Season 3 finale. The decision to kill off Vince was also a creative choice, as the show’s creators confirmed. Tony Phelan told TV Insider, “We felt like it was time for the show and the characters to have a loss. As we were talking about the end of the season, we felt like the thing that was really going to shake up the show and shake up our characters in the best way possible and force them to really reassess where they were and what they were doing was this kind of loss.”

Tia Napolitano served as the showrunner of Fire Country for four seasons before stepping down to focus on other projects. In January, CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach and CBS Studios President David Stapf noted in a joint statement, “Tia has been instrumental in helping both build and steer Fire Country, which not only became a top series, but is also the foundation of a growing universe. We’re grateful for all her contributions and tireless work, and look forward to collaborating with her on future projects,” as quoted by Deadline. Eric Guggenheim has replaced Napolitano as executive producer and showrunner, starting with Season 5.