Tonight, an all-new episode of Sheriff Country airs on CBS. A spinoff of Fire Country, the series follows Sheriff Mickey Fox (Morena Baccarin) as she navigates small-town life and family ties in the rural town of Edgewater, where she juggles family and duty. Christopher Gorham plays the role of Travis Fraley, a lawyer and Mickey’s ex-husband with whom she shares a daughter, and who’s now dating her deputy, Cassidy Campbell (Michele Weaver).

When Gorham first joined the project, he admitted that, like many fans, he had not watched Fire Country before reading the script. “I had never seen Fire Country before I [was] reading for this job,” he recently told SciFi Vision during an interview. “…I read the script, and then I went back and started watching Fire Country and became a fan. So, now I've seen all of them. I'm all caught up.”

He called the show’s emotional core his favorite aspect. “The family stuff to me is really the heart of the show,” he said, adding that Mickey’s struggle to balance her home life and work family is “really compelling.”

Gorham also talked about the complexity of Travis’s relationship with Mickey and Cassidy, noting, “Cassidy and Travis didn't intend to start a relationship…[T]hey both have a deep affection, or love, for Mickey. And I think that that thing that they have in common, which ironically is Mickey, is the thing that ended up bringing them together.”

During the interview, Gorham also discussed his work on season two of the comedy Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage where he plays reprises his role as Scott, Mandy’s ex-boyfriend and boss at the local news station, which is causing some conflict between the two lead characters. “Scott invites her on a story, like an overnight story that they're doing on the meteor shower, which is going to require her to go out of town with Scott for over the weekend, and Georgie's not happy about it, which spurs him to come and have a man-to-man conversation with Scott,” he said, adding that he has been looking forward to Scott and Georgie finally meeting.

Filming two series at once, Gorham is happy to be busy. “To be able to work on [Sheriff Country], which I love, and then also fly back to L.A. and work on a sitcom, which is a format that I love with another amazing cast and incredible writers…I don’t know how you beat that. It’s great right now.”

During the interview, in addition to speaking about his two current series at length, he also spoke about filming the Korean thriller Tempest and reflected on earlier roles like Covert Affairs and Odyssey 5.

You can catch Gorham tonight on Sheriff Country and on Georgie & Mandy starting November 13th, both on CBS and available to stream on Paramount+.

Watch the interview and read the transcript below.



***Edited for length and clarity***

SCIFI VISION:  I watched the two episodes of Sheriff County country last night. I haven't actually seen the original, but now I want to go back and watch it, because I really liked it.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:  Oh, to watch Fire Country?

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah. I just watched your two episodes.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah. It's funny. I had never seen Fire Country before I [was] reading for this job. And so, like you, I read this script, and I hadn't seen it obviously, but I read the script, and then I went back and started watching Fire Country and became a fan. So, now I've seen all of them. I'm all caught up.

SCIFI VISION:   Well, that's good. That's good. Did you watch it though before…you started the role?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Oh yeah, before we started filming, I finished everything. Yep.

SCIFI VISION:   Okay. That's great. What else did you do to prepare for that?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Oh, that's interesting. I've been married for 27 years, which, you know because the, the legal aspect of Travis his job hasn't come into play all that much, at least not so far. So, I wasn't terribly concerned about the like courtroom stuff, and I'd served on a jury, and I have an uncle who was a public defender for a long time. So, I have kind of like some built in research for that part of it. But the most important part of Travis's role so far really has been his relationship with Mickey and to the family, that family dynamic. And that I have a lot of experience with. Not the divorce so much!

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah. [laughs] that’s what I was thinking maybe not that part.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah. But, like but being with someone for over 20 years and being committed to someone and knowing that that person, regardless of your relationship status, is going to be one of the most important people in your lives forever. Like, that I'm intimately familiar with.

SCIFI VISION:   Was there any part of him you have had difficulty connecting with? It sounds like maybe not.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   The only, not difficulty, but the only part, you know, the hardest thing for him I think has been - I think he feels an extraordinary amount of guilt for Skye (Amanda Arcuri)'s addiction, you know, her problems with addiction, because I think he feels like him leaving may be the cause of it, and I don't think that's entirely justified, but I think that's how he feels. So, that part also, I don't have any experience with that kind of regret, but that's a big wound, a scar inside him.

SCIFI VISION:   Talk about the tension between him and Mickey now that she knows about Cassidy.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah. Yeah. Awkward. It's difficult. You know, there's a reason why, well, first of all, I should say, Cassidy and Travis didn't intend to start a relationship. I think that they were confiding in one another, and I think they both have a deep affection, or love, for Mickey. And I think that that thing that they have in common, which ironically is Mickey, is the thing that ended up bringing them together. And there's a reason why they hadn't told her yet is because they were afraid of how she was going to react, because Mickey typically doesn't handle those things very well. So, yeah, it's really awkward. That's not at all how they wanted to tell her. So, now they've got a bit of a repair job to do, but also, I think it's caused, it's put a big roadblock in the way of that Travis-Cassidy relationship.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, definitely. Talk about working with Michele and Morena.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   They're fantastic. First of all, they're wonderful people. So, that makes it nice just to go to work and see them. But they're also wonderful actresses, and I, more than once told them how grateful I am to be working with professionals who just show up and try to make these characters feel real in every frame. And they're not locked into anything. They're very flexible. I mean, it's boring getting into like actor’s process and stuff, but they're both great, and just a joy to work with.

SCIFI VISION:   Now, there've been some characters, obviously, that have come over. I know enough about the original show to recognize some of the characters. I have seen pieces of the original. Is there any possibility that you are ever going to go over to the other show? I'm just curious kind of how that crossover element works, if there's going to be any more of that, I guess.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   I hope so.

SCIFI VISION:   And if it would ever involve you, was the other part of that.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   I hope so, because I'm actually the biggest fan of Fire Country out of all of us. So, I really hope that I get to go over there. I mean, I am Bode (Max Thieriot)’s uncle after all.

But no, so far I haven't gone over there, but I've really enjoyed them coming over onto our show. And like, for instance, in episode two, like, I love that Sharon (Diane Farr) is mad at Travis and is threatening to kill him, because that to me is like, you know, I think I can imagine that then she went and started a fight with Travis.

SCIFI VISION:   I was going to say, she seemed more mad than Mickey did.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I love that. I told Diane, like, I love that moment when she sees Travis and Cassidy hugging and she bumps into the desk. It made me laugh.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, that was really good. So, I don't think you're in the next episode, at least according to Internet Movie Database. So, when are you coming back? Do you know?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Back in episode four.

SCIFI VISION:   Okay. Episode four. Is there anything that you can kind of tease that's coming? I mean, I'm assuming there's a lot to do with his daughter and everything but…

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah, well, that arc of Skye's storyline starts to wrap up as we then move on to other things in the season. But I think one of the things that I'm excited about long term is that just because we've wrapped things up early on, doesn't necessarily mean that they don't then start to unravel again later down the road. So, I think they've done a really good job of planting seeds that then we can reap that harvest later.

SCIFI VISION:   Now, I know he hired a lawyer, but you said about how you have people to talk to. Are you going to get to do any of the law stuff soon on the show?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   I do. I do a little, I do a little coming up in a few episodes, which is in kind of a fun way. It's kind of a - you see Travis appears in court in a fun and unexpected way that then also ends up biting him in the ass, which is also fun.

SCIFI VISION:   Is there anything else, aside from her case and everything that you can tease that's coming at all?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Well, I think, yeah, I know it's hard without, without spilling the beans, but I think broadly, one of the favorite things that I - it's weird to say, but one of the things that I love playing with Morena is our like relationship, is the fights that we have, that Travis and Mickey have, just because they just feel familiar, because they're the kinds of fights that people who've been together forever have, two people who know each other very well and know each other's buttons and how to push them. So, there's some really good conflict between the two of them that is always rooted in the fact that these two, you know, they'll always love each other. So, yeah, some really good stuff. All of the family stuff I really enjoy. It's like my favorite part of the show. The cop stuff is also really good and fun, but for me…I'm not a sheriff.

But truly, like the family stuff to me is really the heart of the show. And I think too, it's what I love about Fire Country is that family feeling and that community. And I think what's interesting about our show is Mickey really has two families. She's got her family at home, and then, she has her family at work, and sometimes those things are in conflict, and sometimes they work together. But her struggle to hold those two groups together is really compelling.

SCIFI VISION:   Is there anything that you have found challenging about this? I know it doesn't have action for you, like a lot of your roles have, but is there anything that you have found challenging?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Or does it? Or does it?

SCIFI VISION:   So far, I should say, from what I've seen so far.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   So far, but there's, no, there is. Yeah, no, Travis gets involved in the action at some point. So, yeah, he definitely gets involved, and once, and when he does that, it was a very challenging couple of episodes. I can't tell you what it's about yet, but it's coming.

SCIFI VISION:   All right. Now you're going to be in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage again, coming up soon from what I understand. What can you tell me about that part that's coming up?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   So, I play Scott, who runs the local news station that Mandy (Emily Osment) works at. Scott is also her ex-boyfriend, which is causing some conflict between Mandy and Georgie (Montana Jordan). So, I believe, I think it's the fifth episode. It was the fifth episode that they filmed, the first one that I'm back. It doesn't always mean it'll be the fifth one to air, but I think it may be. But anyway, it's a fun episode, because Mandy is pushing for more responsibility.

And so Scott invites her on a story, like an overnight story that they're doing on the meteor shower, which is going to require her to go out of town with Scott for over the weekend, and Georgie's not happy about it, which spurs him to come and have a man-to-man conversation with Scott, which is hilarious. So, I've been looking forward to Scott and Georgie meeting, and we finally get to see that happen.

SCIFI VISION:   I was going to say, you play another ex on this one too. [laughs]

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah. Yeah, a very different kind of ex on a very different kind of show, which is also really fun for me to be able to bounce back and forth between a serialized, cop drama and a multi-cam, traditional sitcom. So, that's really fun. And I'm getting ready to go back to do another one very soon.

SCIFI VISION:   So, are you kind of doing them both simultaneously then? Because you're not done yet with [Sheriff’s Country]. Is that difficult to kind of have to keep up?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   It's difficult to schedule. I know. Yeah. No, it's just the scheduling is difficult, I think, because I was working on Georgie & Mandy before I was hired on Sheriff Country. So, I think, unfortunately, they've had to kind of rethink some of what they wanted to do this season with Scott, but I'm so grateful that they've kept him and me around, because I love that show.

SCIFI VISION:   Now, you talk about it being a multi-cam. I don't know a ton of details about all that, but how is it - I guess, which way do you find it more enjoyable and more difficult to film between the drama and that kind of filming?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   They're just different. I mean, essentially, the job's always the same, because you are always trying to portray someone that feels like a real person, like something that people relate to. They forget that you're pretending. and they just believe that this is a real person. So, then they can get engaged in the story and people can see themselves on screen and relate. But technically, the rhythms of a sitcom are very different, because it has to be funny. So, you have to land jokes. And there's rules about things, like you're not going to move on a punch line, because you don't want to distract from the punch. There're technical things about working in a comedy.

And when you're working on a sitcom, you're doing it in front of a live audience. So, it feels a little bit like theater, which is really fun. But working on a drama, you have more time to flesh things out. So, it's just it's different, but the job's basically the same.

SCIFI VISION:   Out of curiosity, because it is live, do you do a lot less takes, or do you still do just as much practice that it ends up kind of the same thing?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   No, it's much less. It goes [faster] at least on Georgie & Mandy. They're such pros. They're all so good at what they do, and the writing's so good that, no, it's usually maybe two takes…With the drama stuff, you do more.

And often, too, with Georgie & Mandy, if we're doing another take, it'll be because they want to try a different joke, and they'll change the line, and then we'll go again.

SCIFI VISION:   Is something like that more, I guess, free, though, to kind of, I don't want to say necessarily add your own stuff, but sort of improvise, I guess, a little bit. Something like that, I'm assuming, is more open to that. I mean, I don't know. The directors are different. It depends.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   But yeah, no. The Steves and Chuck Lorre, I'm sure they love us just making up our own lines. No, no, there's not a ton of ad-lib in my experience, not on that show. But also, you don't need it. Like, the writing's really good. These guys are really good at what they do. But the time for that, really, is when you're rehearsing it and leading up.

SCIFI VISION:   Right.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   But if you want to try something, they've always been open to it. You have to do it the way that's written first, but that's really because almost always, the way that it's written is the best way to do it.

SCIFI VISION:   That makes sense. I know, from what I can tell, this one's been over, I guess, and had aired already, but talk a little bit about Tempest. You got to go to Korea to see the film.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   I did.

SCIFI VISION:   What was that experience like? Also, I know you are speaking in English, but I'm assuming the people around you are not. So, yeah, what was that kind of experience like?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Sure. So, it's a Korean political drama, but there are parts of the story that take place in the States, because they're dealing with Washington and the president and his cabinet.

And I'm playing a mercenary middleman, essentially. So, I'm working with Gang Dong-won, who plays San-ho, and he speaks English. So, we speak English together.

Then the other people were like, there's a scene, we get into a fight, and then some Korean agents come in, and they're speaking Korean. So, I'm just playing it like I don't speak Korean. So, that was easy for me.

Yeah, no, the challenging thing was, obviously, the crew is all Korean. The directors are Korean. And the director spoke English quite well, actually, but I think she was concerned that something in her direction might get lost in translation, so she'd hired a Korean-American actress to be the interpreter. She didn't really need an interpreter, but I think she had made her feel more secure that what her intent was getting through. So, that was interesting.

They have little differences. They would bring in little monitors and show us every take after every single take. And they had an editor on set who was cutting the scene while we were shooting it. So, when you finished the scene, you could watch it, a rough cut, anyway, of it cut together.

And they had a separate director for the action on that show, which was something a little different.

But big picture, it was a very similar experience. Everyone was so kind. The craft service was amazing. All fresh Korean food, as far as the eye could see. It was incredible.

SCIFI VISION:   You talk about they had the monitors and everything. Are you somebody that is okay with watching yourself back? I know some actors like it, some actors do not. Do you watch yourself back?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah. No, I don't mind it. I'm also a director, so I'm used to watching. I tend to watch from a directing eye and seeing what I could do in my performance to help camera and just help the storytelling. I try not to get super judgy about how my face looks, because there's nothing I can do about it.

SCIFI VISION:   That's makeup's job, right? [laughs] Do you find that having directed…has it helped you in the acting?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yes. No, yeah, it really did. It's made me a little less neurotic, I think. I tend to trust our directors more than maybe I used to, having been on the other side of the camera and seen - it's like, if they say that they've got everything they need, then they've got everything they need. I don't really need to do one more take just for me. Things like that. I'm very aware of how time-sensitive everything is, so I try to just come in and be ready to go and just to help them get their day, because that clock is always ticking.

SCIFI VISION:   You said about doing the action was separate for that. Do you enjoy doing that kind of thing, the stunts and all that fun stuff? I know you have [done it] a lot, but you enjoy that?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah, it's fun. Yeah, it's really fun, especially when it's something new and different, finding a different creative way to do a fight scene, or most importantly, I think, making the fights really true to the characters in the story and who they are. That's one of the fun - it was so challenging but engaging about doing fight scenes, for instance, for Covert Affairs, where I'm playing a blind character, and I'm like, “Okay, well, how would this guy fight? It's different than how someone with sight would fight.” Those kind of specific things in fight scenes, finding ways to help the fight tell the story, is always exciting.

SCIFI VISION:   Speaking of Covert Affairs, I know I talked to you back then. It wasn't on video, it was on conference call, but I wanted to ask you, because I never asked this then; I hadn't thought about it. How difficult is it from an acting standpoint, not even just the fighting, but just pretending to be blind, because you have to not look at things and that [kind of thing]? What was that experience like in that sense?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Oh, it was great. It was great. That job never ever got boring, because you have to be completely engaged all the time to make sure that you're portraying that physical disability as accurately as possible. So, it made it challenging, but in a good way all the way through. Yeah, no, it was great.

SCIFI VISION:   That makes sense. I was looking, I had looked up all your stuff. I had forgotten you were in Odyssey 5. I always loved Odyssey 5.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Oh, yeah?

SCIFI VISION:   And Jake 2.0 too, two shows that did not last long enough. But yeah, I've been watching you for quite a while. Because you do have a lot of credits, what's kind of the one thing that sticks out to you, the one role that you think about when you, I don't know, that kind of has a good strong memory, strong presence?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Well, I think probably, Covert probably, just because it was challenging, and we did it for five years. So, it was being able to build on that and constantly finding new facets of who this guy is to try and make him feel more real. So, having that time to do it was really special.

SCIFI VISION:   What would you still like to get to do? Do you have a dream role or type of role or something?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   No, I don't know. Honestly, like, for instance, right now it's just a wonderful time of my career. Like being able to do, to work on Sheriff Country, which is really well written. And they've written this great character for me and these amazing relationships, and the cast is so good. So, to be able to work on this show, which I love, and then also be able to fly back to LA and work on a sitcom, which is a format that I love with another amazing cast and incredible writers, I just, I don't know. I don't know how you beat that. It's great right now. It's great.

SCIFI VISION:   I was going to say, good to be busy with that. Is there somebody you want to work with that you haven't yet?

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Oh, gosh, that list is as long as my arm. You know, like everybody, there's so many talented people. I don't know. I mean, Michael B. Jordan is incredible. I would love to work with him. Shoot, Bong Joon Ho. I would love to work with director Bong.

I mean, it's just, I don't know. Those are just the first two names that come to mind, but there's a thousand people. There's so much talent, and there's so much great film and television being made, but honestly, I'm so happy right where I am at the moment.

SCIFI VISION:   Do you have anything else coming up? At least according to Internet Movie Database, I was looking…but you had something listed that was coming up, I think.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Oh, I did? I don't think so.

SCIFI VISION:  Unplanned in Akron. At least that's what is listed there.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Oh, no, that was, oh, wow. No, that was a pilot that I did for CBS. That was a sitcom pilot with Katie Mixon that we did. Yeah, it was during, like, right at the end of the pandemic.

SCIFI VISION:   Oh, wow.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah, so that was a while ago. That did not go forward, but it was, yeah, that was during the pandemic. That was one of those, like, very unique filming experiences as everything was during that time.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, I was going to say, you've got enough going on right now.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   It's, yeah, no, I'm very happy. Very happy where I am.

SCIFI VISION:   Is it hard, though, sometimes, waiting? I mean, that one obviously you said didn't go out, but waiting so long, because I know some of them have faster turnarounds than others. It seems like these shows aren't super long, but especially, like, with films and stuff a lot of times.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah, it's, well, I tell you, that's one of the things that I love about Sheriff Country is it's a throwback to old school broadcast television. We're shooting 20 episodes, so the audience is going to be able to watch for half the year. They'll have new episodes of Sheriff Country, and then if we get picked up for a second season, they'll only have to wait a few months for the second season instead of, you know, your Netflix show or your Apple show where you get eight to 10 episodes, and then you have to wait two years. I prefer this format.

SCIFI VISION:   Oh, you do, really? That's great. I was going to say, from a viewer's standpoint, we prefer that, but that's interesting to hear you say you prefer that. It has changed a lot, that’s for sure.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah, and there's stability. I think there's stability for an audience of knowing that you're going to have episodes, and your show is going to come back, and you get to spend more time with these characters, but for the actors and the crew and the writers, there's a stability, and there's the stability of that long term where you're working most of the year.

And I think it's good for the business, but it's certainly good for the people who work in the business.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, definitely…Let me ask you really quick. Tell me something, just anything about Odyssey 5. I haven't talked about that, so I'd like to a little bit, because I did love it.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Oh, yeah, shoot. Gosh, Odyssey 5. Well, here's a funny connection. So, Odyssey 5 was when I met Sebastian Roche, and I met him on that show, and we became friends. We are still friends. And Sebastian Roche later met and married the lovely Alicia Hannah-Kim, who was on Cobra Kai, but is also a producer in her own right and is the producer who got me hired on Tempest. So, how's that for a small world?

SCIFI VISION:   That's cool. Yeah, I had talked to him for 1923, a while ago, a little bit ago.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   Yeah, yeah.

SCIFI VISION:   I don't know, I just remember watching [Odyssey 5] with my dad a long, long time ago and always just being mad there weren't very many episodes. That thing did not last very long.

CHRISTOPHER GORHAM:   No, it didn't. Showtime made a right turn and wasn't doing sci-fi anymore, but that was a good show. We got to work with Peter Weller, which was amazing, and he's still around and directing. He's a fantastic director.