Sheriff Country has been a great new hit for CBS, building on the success of its parent show, Fire Country. The procedural drama has been a top-rated show and has earned a second-season renewal.
Now, Deadline reports that for season 2, Amanda Arcuri and Ian Quinlan have been upped from recurring to series regular status when the show returns. It’s a great boost for both characters and for the show itself as it builds on its first season success.
The series is a spinoff of Fire Country with Morena Baccarin as Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr). Mickey is the sheriff of Edgewater, handling various criminal activities, and her ex-con father, Wes (W. Earl Brown), who still has some side criminal gigs.
Arcuri plays Skye, Mickey’s daughter with her ex-husband, Travis Fraley (recurring guest star Christopher Gorham). The first story arc of the show had Skye, a recovering addict, suspected of killing her boyfriend. Mickey proved her daughter’s innocence, and Skye has now joined her aunt Miranda (Kelli O’Hara) in the Fraley family business.
Quinlan portrays Han, a brash young deputy trying to prove himself, who clashes at times with fellow cop Cassidy Campbell (Michele Weaver). While a smaller character, Han is a highlight, as he often calls out Mickey for favoring Cassidy over other cops.
The show just had its first two-part crossover with Fire Country as the two casts worked together to save a busload of kidnapped children. The blurbs for the last episodes of the first season include Mickey helping Skye on her 24th birthday and first year of sobriety, while another episode will involve a murder case tied to the Fraleys, which can complicate Mickey’s family dynamics.
Upping Arcuri and Quinlan to regulars is a good move to boost the show’s ensemble. Skye has been a key part of the series from the start, and the show has featured the difficult relationship between her and Mickey, who wants Skye to be healthy but can’t risk her job to do it. As she’s been in just about every episode of the first season, making Arcuri a regular is no surprise.
Quinlan hasn’t been featured as much, but his appearances have been enjoyable as Han slowly earns the respect of his fellow cops. Upgrading him to a regular gives the series more time to delve into Han’s character and hopefully a spotlight episode on him soon.
There’s no word yet on any further casting changes or additions, but it looks like Sheriff Country is set to build on its first season's success by boosting two of its actors to full leads for more drama.
Sheriff Country airs Fridays at 9/8c on CBS.