Fire Country's New Series Regular Olivia Thirlby Debuts As CJ In Season 5 Premiere (Exclusive Sneak Peek)

"Fire Country" returns for Season 5 tonight (CBS, 9/8c), and the first-responder drama is celebrating the occasion by introducing its first new series regular since premiering back in 2022.

TVLine has an exclusive sneak peek of Olivia Thirlby's debut as new firefighter CJ Ryan, who arrives in Edgewater just in time to help Station 42 save the town from a sinkhole. Worst. Founder's. Day. Ever.

"A lot goes down in Edgewater, we know this to be true," Thirlby tells TVLine. "I think there's a part of her that's a little overwhelmed by the amount of things that can happen in a single day in Edgewater, but there's another part of her that's exhilarated by it."

When we first meet CJ, we learn that she's a former firefighter, and Thirlby assures us that "she has her reasons for wanting to create distance between herself and firefighters, and the profession of firefighting in general." However, "when she finds herself in a first-responder situation, all of her training and expertise kicks in. She doesn't even question it. She just dives right in."

You'll see that first-hand in our exclusive sneak peek, which finds CJ assessing the victims of the sinkhole, all while FaceTiming with Bode and the others. Ready or not, welcome to the team!

Thirlby joins a cast that currently includes Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan-Leone, Kevin Alejandro as Manny Perez, Jordan Calloway as Jake Crawford, Jules Latimer as Eve Edwards, and Diane Farr as Sharon Leone.

Joining a network drama in its fifth season can be daunting, so Olivia Thirlby made sure to acquaint herself with the world of "Fire Country" before showing up to film.

"I actually became a fan of the show while I was watching it," Thirlby tells TVLine. "That made it even more fun to show up in Edgewater and be like, 'Oh my God, I'm at Smokey's!' or 'Oh my God, I'm at 42! Look, mom, I'm in the show!' I acquainted myself with the vibe and tone of the show, and it's so entertaining. It's action, drama, family — all of the richest stuff of life."

In joining the show, Thirlby also discovered that she may be more like her new character than she realizes.

"It was fun to roll up my sleeves and dive in, kind of like how CJ does," the actress says. "She finds herself in the thick of some crazy things going down in Edgewater, and she's just like, 'I'm here for it!'"

Hit PLAY on the video above for your exclusive first look at Thirlby's "Fire Country" debut, then drop a comment with your hopes for Season 5 of the CBS drama below.