SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Sheriff Country Season 1, Episode 3.

The third episode of Sheriff Country provides a lot of information for CBS viewers to digest. Not only is its case of the week more twisty than the previous two, but the series adds a pair of recognizable guest stars. “The Sixth Man” becomes a memorable episode, while also running the risk of making this charming procedural a little too messy.

The mystery in “The Sixth Man” feels like it would’ve fit right in on Matt Lauria’s previous series CSI: Vegas, with its half-dozen initial suspects, the “aha” moment of a shooting victim being a perpetrator, and two different theories of the crime. There are plenty of twists and while a savvy viewer might guess at least one, the script parses them out well enough that the plot never feels convoluted. The whodunit also serves a second purpose: it highlights the ideological discrepancies between Sheriff Mickey Fox and her deputy Nathan Boone, which is one aspect that has so far made Sheriff Country stand out.

In many procedurals, the contrast between protagonists rarely runs deep. There’s the “odd couple” approach that’s popular, but tends to be mostly about surface-level character quirks, like the serious cop and their not-so-serious partner. Or characters may disagree for an episode or two, but the arguments don’t last, because the show has to get back to normal. In contrast, Sheriff Country is leaning into the differences that made Boone a potential rival for Mickey’s job. Episode 3 even spells them out in a conversation between the two, when Boone states that he has to follow the evidence, but Mickey says that who people are is also relevant to the case. That scene deserves to be a little longer, but it makes the point. There will be more layers to every story if Mickey and Boone are tackling their work from different perspectives, rather than being a united team.

The personal plotline involving Mickey’s daughter Skye continues, and it’s already showing signs of wear. The big plot twist is yet another last-minute reveal: Skye bought the knife that was used to murder her ex-boyfriend Brandon. Sheriff Country has to be careful not to drag this subplot out too long, especially because it has the most familiar plot elements (like Brandon’s menacing brothers). The one major plus in this plotline is that Broadway icon Kelli O’Hara makes her debut as Miranda Fraley, Travis Fraley’s sister and Mickey’s ex-sister-in-law. O’Hara is a legend who recently produced the Renee Elise Goldsberry documentary Satisfied, and the way Miranda is written is refreshing. Instead of the usual “haves and have nots” arguing, Miranda speaks honestly with Mickey and wants to get on the same page.

That avoidance of cliches is another strength in Sheriff Country. The characters have some recognizable parts, such as Miranda and Travis coming from a rich family while Mickey talks about always being seen as “the girl from Deadwater.” But the writers find little ways to make them different. Mickey’s father Wes is definitely the quirky oddball (fans learn he tried to do a drug deal at Disneyland), yet in “The Sixth Man” one of his quirkiest scenes is also his most powerful. Wes speaks to Brandon’s brothers about how he dealt with grief—before revealing that he’s been intimidating them with a Pez dispenser. W. Earl Brown has found exactly the right balance between comic relief and real parenting, and so have the writers.

The same can be said for Skye, as Amanda Arcuri’s character could be just another clueless TV teenager creating drama for her parents. But despite Skye’s flaws, she’s written in an admirable way. Her feelings get explored more than just surface-level fear, and she continues to want to help find Brandon’s killer. She feels like a three-dimensional young woman, not just a damsel in distress. Sheriff Country is pushing this idea of community as what makes Mickey—and by extension the show itself—different. But that only works if the creative team invests in the community and the characters who populate it, no matter how large a role they have. So far, the writers are doing that.

“The Sixth Man” has only a few missteps, but the show ought to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t grow into bigger ones. One is how long Skye’s story can play out before the scenes of threats (on both sides) get old. The other is the reveal that a potential suspect is actually an undercover DEA agent whom Mickey is sleeping with. The Expanse star Wes Chatham seems fine in the role of Dawson Raines, but Sheriff Country will want to avoid being bogged down in romantic drama. There’s already the Cassidy and Travis story adding personal tension. And too many procedurals wind up letting their romances overshadow the rest of their character development. (Chicago Med‘s latest promo, for example, is entirely about who Dr. John Frost might be romantically interested in.)

Yet so far, Sheriff Country is on the right track. The Fire Country spinoff is investing into its characters and showing the audience why they should do the same, and the plots of the week are interesting enough to keep viewers watching. “The Sixth Man” serves up a good balance of both.

Sheriff Country airs Fridays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.