After Vince’s shocking death on Fire Country, Diane Farr opened up about Sharon’s grieving process — including the chances of her finding love again.
“[Before the season started], I said I really would not like to have a love interest,” Farr, 56, exclusively told Us Weekly. “If men get married the day after their wife dies, people will be like, ‘They needed that.’ Women, we are meant to observe our loved ones after they are gone — and there was no way I’m ever going to replace this.”
Farr wanted to properly portray Sharon’s loss. “I think you can probably see that I’m still wearing my wedding ring on the show,” she added. “I was like, ‘We can’t just brush this away.’”
Fire Country’s third season, which aired earlier this year, ended on a cliffhanger with Vince (Billy Burke), Sharon and Walter’s (Jeff Fahey) lives left in the balance. News broke hours after the finale aired in April that Burke, 58, and Stephanie Arcila were departing the show.
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Vince was subsequently killed off in the season 4 premiere. As Sharon continues to grieve, Farr is open to anything with enough time devoted to honoring her marriage.
“We’ll see how it goes. But I love where it is so far. She’s really working through this right now. But also it’s this idea [of falling in love so young]. This isn’t my own life — I didn’t meet my partner at 20 years old,” Farr explained. “I’ve never shared my life with just one person. I’ve shared my life with so many. So just trying to explore what it’d be like to be a one when you’ve been part of a two for more years than you were ever single.”
Despite not looking for Sharon to find love, Farr did share scenes with newcomer Brett (Shawn Hatosy) that could hint at something more — several seasons into the future.
“I love this so much. Shawn is such a good actor. He’s really fun to work with,” she gushed. “But when he came on, I was like, ‘Oh God, please don’t give me a love interest yet.’ But he has plenty of other people to pick on, so it’s OK.”
Sharon’s story in season 4 is also expected to explore her history with her mother. At the end of the Friday, November 14, episode of the hit CBS series, Sharon revealed that her estranged mom was to blame for the suspicious note that Vince hid from her.
“My mother is coming to town, and Christine Lahti is playing her. I learned so much with Christine Lahti every day. She’s amazing, and she’s just so vibrant,” she told Us. “Christine is the first person that I saw hold her whole character. She didn’t bend one inch for me. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s actually the kindest thing you could do for your scene partner.’ She really took up all the space she could, which gave me something to push on.”
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Farr teased how the mother-daughter dynamic is expected to play out.
“Sharon is not as honorable with her mother and her sister. She is at work, but her mother has seen the worst sides of her. I have had the stupidest arguments with my siblings — things you would never do with people that you would take less for granted than maybe your smallest circle,” she teased. “That was a pretty big story line to have to uphold that Vince would have paid this woman money to stay away from Sharon. It’s so heightened.”
Fire Country airs on CBS Fridays at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes will be streaming the next day on Paramount+.
