Firefighter showshave always been popular television fare and several series have proven successful with audiences and critics alike over the years. As one of the big three emergency services, along with medical personnel and police, firefighters have always struck a chord with the American viewing public. Those big red fire trucks speeding out of ornately decorated stations with armored citizens ready to save the lives of those in danger is a naturally propulsive scenario. It’s not hard to understand why so many children are fascinated by firefighters.
Unlike cop shows that oftenhave to deal with the sticky issues of policing in America, firefighting shows can simply focus on the problems at hand. The people who choose to do such a dangerous job for little recognition and even tinier compensation are inherently compelling and worth exploring, either from a comedic angle, a dramatic one, or a combination of both.The best firefighter shows, therefore, often end up feeling a little like Westerns, with strapping men and women, out to protect the innocents from the uncaring, harsh dangers of the world.
The First Respondersis a South Korean TV show that follows the joint efforts of the police and firefighters in Taewon. Son Ho-jun co-stars as Bong Do-jin, a firefighter who is also a fire investigator who is often preoccupied with how his fires get started, trying to stem them at the source. It’s a thrilling series andthe push and pull between the police and the fire department leads to some excellent dramatic tensionthat weaves through the series.
Code Redmay have only run for one season, but that season was filled with a realistic, LA-based story that never sacrificed authenticity for drama, developing its tension from real-world scenarios that never felt artificial. The series followed Lorne Greene as Battalion Fire Chief Joe Rorchek, a veteran firefighter who was set to hand off the station to one of his sons.Code Redcombined the family drama of a show likeBlue Bloodswith the action of a firefighter series for an engrossing blend.
The British series,The Smoke, was canceled after one season but still introduced audiences to an eclectic group of firefighters who fight blazes in London. White Watch, as the team is known, is led by Kev Allison (Jamie Bamber), a fatherly but traumatized firefighter whose past bad experience during a fire has left him constantly on the lookout. Betrayal and past scars fill upThe Smokeand even through the heightened drama, the show remains a watchable and relatable series about a family struggling to come together.
Fire Force
Cast
Fire Force is set in year 198 of the Solar Era in Tokyo, where special fire brigades combat spontaneous human combustion, transforming people into Infernals. Shinra Kusakabe, nicknamed Devil’s Footprints, joins Special Fire Force Company 8 and investigates a fire that killed his family, amid growing threats from a faction creating Infernals.
Based on the Japanese manga series from 2015,Fire Forcefollows a group of young pyrokinetic firefighters who are tasked with countering pyrokinetic monsters who have set the world ablaze. Tokyo is the last bastion of safety and the Fire Force is determined to protect Earth’s surviving humans.Similar in style toBleach,Fire Forceisa beautifully animated series that turns firefighters into superheroes and fires into living monsters, which may not be so far from realityfor anyone who has had to experience the destructive events.
The British series,London’s Burning, began with a two-hour TV movie pilot before settling into 14 seasons of dramatic fire-fighting action by emergency responders at the fictional Blackwall fire station in London. The series specifically follows the “Blue Watch”, who operate during the most dangerous shift of the day. While often operating as a black comedy,London’s Burningwas never afraid to contend with serious issues like prejudice and sexism on the job aimed towards the Blue Watch’s multicultural staff.
Station 19
Station 19 is a spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy that premiered in 2018 on ABC. The series follows the professional and personal lives of the firefighters at Seattle Fire Station 19. Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 sometimes have crossover episodes in which a storyline is depicted on one night throughout both shows.
TheGrey’s Anatomyspinoff,Station 19, is also set in Seattle and follows the personnel who operate out of Seattle Fire Station 19. Just like its parent show,Station 19is just as concerned with the private lives of its characters as it is with their professional lives. The firefighters have dealt with everything from tiny fires to massive blazes that threaten their own homes.Station 19struggled to find an identity at first but eventually found its own niche thanks to its explosive action and unique and charming cast of characters.
One of the older firefighter-themed TV shows,Rescue 8follows the number 8 fire department of the LACFD (Los Angeles County Fire Department). One of 26 rescue units, Rescue Squad 8 is headed by veteran rescue man Wes Cameron (Jim Davis). The series only lasted for 2 seasons, but nearly every firefighter show that has come out afterward owes this original series a debt of gratitude for laying the groundwork for what audiences would come to expect from action-packed firefighter TV shows.
9-1-1: Lone Star
A spin-off series of 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star is an action-drama series created for Fox. The series follows Rob Lowe as Owen Strand, a firefighter from New York City who, after having rebuilt a team in the aftermath of September 11th’s attacks, is brought in to form a new one in Austin, Texas.
A spinoff to9-1-1,9-1-1: Lone Starstars Rob Lowe as Captain Owen Strand, a firefighter from New York City diagnosed with lung cancer from his work at Ground Zero on June 12, 2025. After rebuilding their department in NYC, he and his son, TK (Ronen Rubenstein), relocate to Austin, Texas to start a new life and fix a middling fire department. The firefighters inLone Stardon’t just fight fires, as tornadoes, ice storms, and more threaten the citizens Owen and his son are charged with protecting. It’s non-stop action but with plenty of depth in the ensemble cast.
Fire Country
Fire Country follows Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption by joining a firefighting program in his Northern California hometown. Working alongside elite firefighters, Donovan and fellow inmates strive to control massive wildfires in the region while navigating personal challenges and community dynamics.
Most firefighter TV shows present the emergency personnel as heroes right out of the gate, butFire Countryattempts to show how the dangers and responsibilities of the job can turn people into heroes. The series stars Max Thieriot as Bode Leon, an inmate who volunteers for the California Conservation Camp Program to shorten his prison sentence. This program is specifically for incarcerated people and Bode is assigned to his old hometown, meaning he has to deal with the dangers of the job and contend with the harm he caused to those closest to him.
IfRescue 8created the blueprint for firefighter TV shows,Emergency!improved them and revealed just how successful a series based around a fire station could be. The show stars Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as two paramedics and firefighters working in LA. Together, the pair form Squad 51, and work to help those in need in the metropolitan area. The series had a very authentic bent, with many plotlines from the six seasons taken from real-life stories of fire and medical emergencies, making the setting feel like an actual place.
