EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff Country executive producer and showrunner Matt Lopez has signed an overall deal with CBS Studios, the studio behind the breakout CBS drama series.

Under the multi-year pact, Lopez will continue in his role at the helm of the Fire Country spinoff while also developing other projects for the studio. That includes the untitled Edgewater medical drama offshoot in the works, which is set in the same universe as Fire Country and Sheriff Country. Lopez is writing and executive producing the project, executive produced by the franchise’s stewards Max Thieriot, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, co-creators of Fire Country and Sheriff Country, and Jerry Bruckheimer TV’s Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed.

Sheriff Country, starring Morena Baccarin, is wrapping its first season as the #2 new broadcast show of 2025-26 behind CBS’ Marshals, averaging nearly 11 million viewers per episode (35-day multi-platform viewing.) Already renewed for Season 2, Sheriff Country‘s Season 1 finale airs May 22.

Before taking the reins of Sheriff Country after the spinoff was ordered to series off of a Fire Country backdoor pilot episode, Lopez was the creator and showrunner of the ABC/Hulu drama series Promised Land. His feature writing credits include HBO Max’s original Father of the Bride, from Warner Bros., and several Disney movies, including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Race to Witch Mountain. Lopez, a former DreamWorks biz affairs exec and alum of the Disney Writers Program, is repped by CAA, Lit Entertainment Group and Lichter Grossman Nichols.