Details on Jared Padalecki’s Character & Bode

Talent recognizes talent. Such is the case when it comes to the new character of Camden, played by Jared Padalecki, joining Fire Country Season 3.

Padalecki is set for a three-episode arc as a SoCal firefighter and maverick with a surfer swagger who is a force to be reckoned with and immediately recognizes Bode’s (Max Thieriot) raw talent. “We’re so excited,” executive producer Tia Napolitano tells TV Insider. “The part was written for Jared, very specifically. Jared and Max are buddies, so that helped.”

Season 2 ended with Bode out—he got time off his sentence, which he was serving at Three Rock fire camp, for saving his father Vince (Billy Burke)—and trying to figure out what’s next for him. He knows he wants it to include firefighting; he went to his uncle, Luke (Michael Trucco), at the end of the finale and asked him to pull strings to make that happen. It sounds like Camden could be part of his journey back to that.

“Everyone in Bode’s life before Camden hits the scene is sort of trying to tame a tiger when it comes to Bode to make sure he works the program so he can get out,” Napolitano previews. “Camden is more Bode than anyone else on our show. I think they’re twin flames and similar and Camden’s able to encourage, draw out maybe the dangerous side of Bode, but he sees the talent and leans into it. He doesn’t try to put lightning back into the bottle.”

What does that mean for the others who are trying to “tame” Bode since Camden’s stoking the flames?

“It’s an interesting space where people have their opinions about how Bode should go about firefighting, but again, he’s not incarcerated anymore, so how much say does anybody really have over a grown man pursuing what he wants to pursue?” points out Napolitano. “So we’ll have to see.”

What’s exciting you most about Padalecki coming in as Camden? What are you hoping to see there in Season 3? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Fire Country, Season 3 Premiere, Friday, October 18, 9/8c, CBS