CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Marina __; “Chicago P.D.” actress “Death Becomes __”; Meryl Streep film

Alan or Diane

Sleeve filler

Artist’s stand

“It isn’t my cup __ __”

Actor John

Zebulon, to John Walton

“__. Elsewhere”

Actor on “The A-Team” (2)

Liza Lapira’s role on “The Equalizer” Fast-running bird

Letter from Greece

__ Coleman; “La Brea” role

Actress Kelly

Maggie __; “Chicago Med” role

“__ on the Nile”; 2022 Annette Bening film

36.

38.

39.

42.

43.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

12.

14.

16.

19.

20.

“Aida” composer

555

Paquin or Faris

Gun rights organization Actor on “Alaska Daily” (2)

“Manchester by the __”; 2016 movie P-U connection

Singer Fitzgerald

Initials for Acuff

Musical disc, for short

“American __”

Farewell (hyph.)

Hothead’s problem

“So __ __ __”

Actor on “CSI: Vegas” (2)

Get it wrong

Worth & Knox: abbr.

“__ Wives” (2007-13)

“Late Night With __ Meyers”

22.

23.

27.

28.

30.

31.

32.

33.

35.

37.

40.

41.

Night we watch “New Amsterdam”: abbr.

“God Friended __”

“__ in Cleveland” (2010-15)

Minoso of “Chicago Fire”

Kilauea flow

Informal talk

Cameo shape

First 007 movie (2)

“A Nightmare on __ Street”

Lacking moisture

John Denver’s state of birth: abbr. Mexico’s continent

BY JAY BOBBIN

Football-championship season can mean good news for certain series.

Networks often decide to give extra postgame airings to shows they want to boost ... and on Sunday, Jan. 29, CBS’ “Fire Country” receives such treatment, as the Max Thieriot-starring drama gets a showcase outside its usual Friday slot, following the AFC Championship contest. In the new story, a plane crash sparks a blaze that Bode Donovan (Thieriot) and other firefighting volunteers among Northern California prison inmates unite to battle.

Thieriot recently ended his connection to “SEAL Team” with the death of his character on that show, now seen on Paramount+, so he’s now exclusive to “Fire Country” — something that could have been foreseen, since he’s also a creator and executive producer of the latter series. He claimed at the start of the television season that he had the energy to keep doing both programs, but his larger commitment clearly was to the latter one.

Having based “Fire Country” (which already has been renewed for a second season) on his own experiences growing up in the Sonoma County region that the show concerns, Thieriot reflects, “I’d say the stuff that’s kind of most memorable right now is the stuff that’s really occurred in the past few years ... obviously, a large portion of the Santa Rosa being destroyed, Coffey Park and all those neighborhoods, all the lives that were tragically lost. It was a really, really devastating fire, so I think that one probably has the biggest impact on me emotionally.”