Rob Lowe Hints That “9-1-1: Lonestar” Could Be Ending
Later this year, the hit series, “9-1-1: Lonestar”, will be returning for a fifth season following a hiatus caused by last year’s Hollywood strikes.
Starring Emmy Award nominee Rob Lowe, 9-1-1: Lone Star follows members of Austin’s 126 Fire Department led by Captain Owen Strand (Lowe) who, along with his adult son, T.K. (Ronen Rubinstein), moved to Texas to help rebuild the firehouse which had experienced a tragedy of its own.
His team of diverse and qualified first responders include widowed Paramedic Captain Tommy Vega (Gina Torres), Judd Ryder (Jim Parrack), who was the sole survivor of Austin’s original 126 house after a rescue call ended in tragedy; Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam), an adrenaline junkie and badass firefighter who also is a devout Muslim; Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith), a transgender male firefighter, who bravely decided to transition on the job in Chicago and has a gift for observation worthy of Sherlock Holmes; and rookie firefighter Mateo Chavez (Julian Works). Settling into his new home, T.K. caught the eye of police officer Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva), and the two began a romantic relationship, eventually marrying in the Season Four finale. T.K hung up his firefighter helmet to become a full-time paramedic under Tommy’s guidance and works closely with fellow paramedic Nancy Gillian (Brianna Baker).
In the upcoming fifth season, Captains Strand and Vega, along with the 126 team, race into action when, in a multi-episodic opening storyline, a catastrophic train derailment endangers several lives, including some of their own. With Judd resigning from the 126 to take care of his recently handicapped son Wyatt (Jackson Pace), Owen must find a new lieutenant to replace Judd and has a difficult decision ahead of him when both Marjan and Paul apply for the promotion. Tommy is ready to take the next step in her relationship, but she finds the road to happiness is filled with obstacles. On his 30th birthday, T.K. gets a surprise visit from someone from his past that could change his and Carlos’ lives forever. Now officially husband and husband, T.K. and Carlos’ marriage is put to the test when Carlos becomes obsessed with solving his father’s murder.
Since the show is created by 20th Television, there are further complications from the fallout of the purchase of 20th Century Fox by Disney. As FOX is focusing on its own original content, it wants to be less reliant on the more established shows from Disney.
It was two years ago that FOX decided it would “cancel” the main “9-1-1” show, with ABC quickly jumping to pick up the show, where it went on to become one of the most popular shows on the network when it returned last year.
During a recent interview with Variety, Rob Lowe revealed that he is expecting this season to be the last.
We all went into it pretty much knowing that it was going to be the last season, so that affected everything we did. We wanted to really show everybody what is still possible in network television if people have the appetite to do it. It feels like it’s probably the end of an era of a certain type — well, it doesn’t feel like it. It is the end of an era of a certain type of show we once had an opportunity to make, and I think they’re great. We wanted to go out making our case for the value of shows like that, and I think we did a really good job. The stories that we were able to tell on a weekly basis in terms of the scope and scale — that’s probably the thing I’m the most proud of. They were truly like mini-movies every week.
This isn’t the first time this year that the future of the show has been questioned, as earlier this summer, it was revealed that the cast was under options until production on the new season wrapped in July and many of the stars from the show didn’t return for the fifth season.
Going by those comments, it does feel like Rob Lowe is setting the tone that the future of the show isn’t set in stone, which could be a way of getting fans energised and rallying around the show, to see if ABC and Disney might do the same as they did with it’s parent show, “9-1-1”. Hopefully, if it is the final season, they will wrap things up nicely at the end so fans can come to a conclusion.
“9-1-1: Lone Star” is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television and Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear are the creators, executive producers and writers of the series. Bradley Buecker is an executive producer who directed the premiere of the series. Alexis Martin Woodall, Rashad Raisani, John J. Gray, Angela Bassett, Rob Lowe, Carly Soteras and Wolfe Coleman are executive producers.
“9-1-1: Lonestar” returns on FOX on Monday 23rd September 2024 at 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT, and new episodes will be available the next day on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+. The series has also been released exclusively on Disney+ in many countries, though no return details have yet been announced for an international release.
The previous four seasons of “9-1-1: Lonestar” are also available to stream now on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+ in the United States and on Disney+ internationally.
Roger’s Take: While “9-1-1: Lonestar” would be a great pickup for the ABC network to boost its drama series, Disney is trying to reduce the amount of general entertainment content it’s creating to reduce spending. Older shows generally cost more to make, so Disney might be more interested in starting something new. However, since “9-1-1” has been a huge hit following its jump to ABC and with the end of “Station 19”, this series could possibly fill the void in the future. But after five seasons, I still wouldn’t be surprised if this show comes to a close.
Do you think this will be the final season of “9-1-1: Lonestar”? Let me know on social media!
Roger Palmer
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