‘Hearth Nation’ Showrunner Tia Napolitano to Step Down After Season 4 at CBS

Tia Napolitano is exiting her function as showrunner of CBS’ hit drama Hearth Nation after 4 seasons. She’ll step away on the finish of the present season and shift her focus to improvement initiatives underneath her total take care of CBS Studios, which produces the sequence. A seek for a brand new showrunner is predicted to start quickly.

Napolitano boarded Hearth Nation instantly after the pilot, becoming a member of as govt producer and showrunner. The sequence was created by star Max Thieriot alongside writers Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, and Napolitano has guided the firefighter drama since its earliest days on the community.

The present wasted no time catching hearth. When it debuted in the course of the 2022–2023 season, Hearth Nation ranked because the most-watched new sequence of the yr and was rapidly flagged by CBS executives as a possible franchise starter.

Now in Season 4, the drama stays a dependable Friday-night winner, averaging 8.1 million Dwell+35 multi-platform viewers so far. Its success has already sparked enlargement, serving to launch spinoff Sheriff Nation, which is on tempo to reflect Hearth Nation’s achievement because the most-watched freshman sequence of its season.

“Tia has been instrumental in serving to each construct and steer Hearth Nation, which not solely turned a high sequence, however can also be the inspiration of a rising universe,” CBS Leisure President Amy Reisenbach and CBS Studios President David Stapf mentioned in a joint assertion. “We’re grateful for all her contributions and tireless work, and sit up for collaborating together with her on future initiatives.”

Napolitano’s journey with the inventive staff goes again years. Her first tv job was as a writers assistant for Gray’s Anatomy showrunners Phelan and Rater, and he or she was approached for the Hearth Nation showrunner function early in improvement—earlier than the pilot was formally ordered to sequence. Throughout her tenure, she steered the present by way of main challenges, together with the writers strike, the L.A. fires, and the latest exits of authentic forged members Billy Burke and Stephanie Arcila on the finish of final season.

“I’m past happy with the previous 4 seasons of Hearth Nation,” Napolitano mentioned. “All of my gratitude to our forged, crew, writers, producers, followers, and naturally CBS and CBS Studios. It’s been a ravishing journey!”

Earlier than Hearth Nation, Napolitano served as govt producer and showrunner on Freeform’s Merciless Summer season. Her further writing and producing credit embody Gray’s Anatomy and its spinoff Station 19.

Hearth Nation Season 4 returns with new episodes on February 27.