We’re five episodes into Fire Country’s fourth season; however, as the show continues to air on the 2025 TV schedule, Vince’s death is still making a huge impact. Billy Burke leaving the show and his character tragically passing were arguably the biggest shakeups we’ve seen on the CBS hit. Now, Diane Farr, who plays his wife Sharon on the show, has opened up about his exit and how he broke the news to the cast.
Following the end of Fire Country’s third season, there were questions about who was staying and who would be leaving due to reports about Stephanie Arcila and Burke exiting the show and the disastrous cliffhanger the finale ended on. And while it seemed logical that Vince would tragically die, it wasn’t confirmed. It wasn’t confirmed to the cast either until their summer break, as Diane Farr told Us Weekly:
I found out over the summer. None of us knew what was happening. Billy, Jeff [Fahey] and I went into the fire and we didn’t have any more information.
So, not only were fans left on a cliffhanger about who would survive the fire that Sharon, Vince and Walter were stuck in, but the cast was too. Sadly, the story didn’t have a happy ending, and that meant bad news had to be broken to the actors as well as the fans.
It turns out, Burke himself was the one to relay that news to the cast. Speaking about the note the Vince actor shared with his co-stars when he learned that he wouldn’t be returning for Season 4, Farr said:
It was very clear that the producers or writers were going to make some kind of change. It was Billy who told us all. He told the cast in a group note saying that he wasn’t coming back — it was pretty devastating. Everyone was sad and I felt like I was coming back in with only half my character because they’re so tied.
This really is a monumental loss, especially for Sharon, so it makes sense why Farr was so emotional about it. She also made it clear that she wanted her character to grieve the loss of Vince “for a really long time.”
Up until the start of Season 4, Fire Country’s cast of regulars had’t changed. While guest stars came and went, the actors who played Bode, Sharon, Vince, Gabriela, Manny, Eve and Jake were always there. However, that seriously changed this year. That was hard for all of them to swallow, it seems, but I’m happy Burke was the one who got to tell them. I’m sure it all meant a lot to everyone involved.
After explaining how she learned about her TV husband’s departure from Fire Country, Farr said she hopes Burke (and Arcila) will come back. While it would be easy to work Gabriela back into the story following her exit in Season 4’s premiere, it will be harder to incorporate the Vince actor back into the story. However, the Sharon actress has ideas, as she said:
I think now we’re always going to have the OG cast — the original seven. The hope for all of it is I would love to see Gabriela and Bode have a more adult version at some point. I would love to see Sharon start to have dreams where she sees Vince. This is the risk we take when we let these amazing actors go out and be free. They may be unavailable [to come back].
Well, I certainly hope all these dreams can come true, too. However, for now, the characters on the show are still very much grieving and dealing with the fallout and consequences of Vince’s death (like the situation with that note).
Also, behind the scenes, Farr did admit that she’s “still worried” about more characters leaving. That’s because the tragic reality of being a firefighter is that everyone’s lives are on the line, and that point was really emphasized by Vince’s passing.
So, now, to see how the story continues, you can watch new episodes of Fire Country on CBS every Friday at 9 p.m. ET, and you can stream new episodes the day after they air with a Paramount+ subscription. Oh, and if you have that subscription, you can always go back and watch old seasons of the show to see Billy Burke in action as Vince Leone.