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Everything to Know About 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5

The final season will start with a three-episode catastrophe

Max Gao
Ronen Rubinstein, 9-1-1: Lone Star

Ronen Rubinstein, 9-1-1: Lone Star

 Kevin Estrada/Fox

More than 16 months after airing its last episode, 9-1-1: Lone Star is finally returning to Fox this fall with an epic, multi-episode storyline about a train derailment in Texas. But the return of one of the most ambitious procedural dramas on television could prove to be bittersweet, with the announcement that the show's fifth season would be its last.

Read on for everything you need to know about the next season of Lone Star, including its release date, plot, cast, and more.

Fall TV schedules:

9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 release date

The fifth season of 9-1-1: Lone Star will premiere Monday, Sept. 23 on Fox. All episodes will also be available to stream the next day on Hulu.

9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 renewal status

9-1-1: Lone Star will not be returning for Season 6. Deadline reported that Fox canceled the series on Sept. 5. The series was expensive by Fox's standards, and the cast had long suspected that Season 5 would be its last.

9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 episode count

In addition to making fans wait even longer than normal between seasons, the fifth season will only consist of 12 episodes (as opposed to 18 episodes, which has become customary in the 9-1-1 universe).

Deadline reported that the show, like any other broadcast or streaming service, was heavily impacted by the double Hollywood strikes last year. During the strikes, Fox and producing studio 20th Television discussed an 18-episode order — six episodes for midseason, 12 for this fall. But as the SAG-AFTRA strike stretched into November, the two sides decided only to order 12 episodes.

9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 trailer

On July 2, Fox released a teaser trailer of the multi-episode opening storyline, which will center on a catastrophic train derailment that will endanger several lives, including those of the first-responders. A month later, Fox released the first trailer for the new season, which revealed that, in addition to that explosive train crash, the 126 will be forced to contend with a "poison cloud of death" that could leave multiple people knocking on death's door. Season 5 is starting off extra dangerous!

What happened in 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4?

The fourth season of Lone Star ended with a jam-packed, two-hour finale that encapsulated the way the show is able to balance seemingly contradictory but deeply human themes — life and death, comedy and tragedy, love and loss — at the same time.

Before their long-awaited nuptials, Carlos (Rafael L. Silva) and T.K. (Ronen Rubinstein), who have both survived their fair share of near-death experiences, are dealt one last blow on their way to the wedding altar: the tragic death of Carlos' Texas Ranger father, Gabriel (Benito Martinez), who was shot and killed on his own doorstep by an unknown assailant. The sudden passing of his father sent Carlos into a tailspin; not only did he call off his wedding to T.K., but he also became obsessed with tracking down Gabriel's killer(s), who he believed are part of a powerful criminal organization.

After Carlos' ill-fated investigation ran into a dead end, his future father-in-law, Owen (Rob Lowe), told him that he needed to make peace with the fact that he may never find Gabriel's killer — otherwise, he won't be able to live his own life. Carlos returned home and asked T.K. to marry him again, because "it's the only thing [he's] sure of right now." (The two eventually made it down the aisle, tying the knot in a beautiful ceremony.)

Meanwhile, Judd (Jim Parrack) discovered that his son Wyatt (Jackson Pace), who had dropped out of college to follow in his footsteps as a firefighter, may not regain enough mobility in his legs to ever walk again after being badly injured in a biking accident. After hearing that Wyatt would have to undergo three months of physical and occupational therapy at a sterile rehab facility, Judd decided to quit his job at Station 126 and request an early payout to become his son's full-time caregiver and hire the necessary home health nurses for his recovery.

And in the final minutes of the finale, Owen assists in the euthanasia of his half-brother, Robert (Chad Lowe), who was suffering from Huntington's disease. "Things definitely didn't happen as antiseptically and clean and clear as they appeared in a montage, let's just put it that way," co-showrunner Rashad Raisani told TV Guide ahead of the launch of Season 5. "Owen is harboring an immense amount of guilt. I think most people around him aren't even aware of it, but it will come out [in the new season], and I think people will be really surprised when we reveal how it comes out and what the overall effect of it is."

9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 spoilers

Fox has already revealed plenty of details about what to expect from the new season of Lone Star. Following Judd's resignation from the 126, Owen must find a new lieutenant to replace Judd, and he faces a tough decision between best friends Marjan (Natacha Karam) and Paul (Brian Michael Smith), who are both worthy of the promotion. Tommy (Gina Torres) wants to take the next step in her relationship with pastor Trevor (D.B. Woodside), encountering difficult obstacles along the way.

"We wanted to start this almost as fun and games that these [Marjan and Paul] are under the illusion that they can both want something as fundamental and as important as becoming the lieutenant of a firehouse and have it not affect their friendship, which both of them would say is one of the most dear parts of their lives," Raisani told TV Guide in a new interview. "So we wanted to put those things — what I want for myself versus my best friend — in conflict. In that first episode, there's the veil falling away that they think that this [battle for lieutenant] won't affect their friendship. And the second episode, we show the darkest part of them realizing that, where they're actually becoming more overt rivals and how it's starting to curdle their friendship."

Tommy (Gina Torres) wants to take the next step in her relationship with pastor Trevor Parks (D.B. Woodside), encountering difficult obstacles along the way. One of those obstacles comes from a natural place, Raisani said. As part of their divorce settlement, Trevor's ex-wife (and the mother of their daughter Melody) agreed to let Trevor and Melody move from Kansas to Texas, under the condition that she would be able to meet and approve of whomever Trevor chooses to remarry in the future.

Trevor's ex-wife "wants to know whoever Trevor plans to put in [their] kid's life, especially if he's cohabitating with another woman, but also with two other teenagers," Raisani explained. "That just felt like a very ripe and real thing to have to make them go through, so they're going to go through that, and I think it takes some rather unexpected and hilarious turns. But at the end of it, it will show just who these people are and what their value systems are."

On his 30th birthday, T.K. gets a surprise visit from someone from his past that could change his and new husband Carlos' lives forever. Meanwhile, Carlos, who has joined the Texas Rangers between seasons, becomes obsessed with solving his father's murder and bringing his killers to justice, putting his marriage to T.K. to the test in the process.

"We really wanted to put some pressure on that relationship," Raisani said of Carlos and T.K. "I think for T.K. especially, it's like, 'You love Carlos. You want him to get that closure, that peace, that can come from finding out his dad's killer.' But also, T.K. is a former addict who knows he's seeing signs of addiction, and Carlos is addicted to this thing, and it's clouding over and suffocating other elements of their future together because Carlos is so focused on what happened in the past. T.K., because he loves Carlos, will be patient and graceful about it, but at some point, he's going to have to put his foot down — and it's going to be very uncomfortable when he does."

Come back to TV Guide after the premiere on September 23 to read a full breakdown of the premiere and a preview of what else is to come this season!

Is Sierra McClain leaving 9-1-1: Lone Star?

TV Guide can confirm that Sierra McClain, who played 9-1-1 operator Grace Ryder, will not be returning to Lone Star this season.

Deadline reported that reps for the Lone Star actors first approached 20th Television two years ago about renegotiating their contracts and securing raises ahead of Season 4. That effort was rebuffed, with the studio pushing negotiations to after Season 4 — as was the case with the original 9-1-1. But when the actors went back to try and negotiate a year later, following the end of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, their reps were told that there would be no renegotiations. The actors were offered some extra compensation, which Deadline described as bonuses. After some back and forth, McClain, who was also offered money, and 20th Television quietly parted ways.

"When Sierra's ability to be on the show went into jeopardy, it was to my great dismay," Raisani told TV Guide. "I love Sierra. I think she's a central building block of this series because it's her voice. She's the 9-1-1 dispatcher on a show called 9-1-1: Lone Star. So she's the dead center of the show and she's really the soul of the show. So it was always going to be brutal; the idea of losing her seemed unthinkable to be honest.

"That made me say, 'Okay, well we need to respect Sierra McClain, the actor. We need to respect Grace, the character. So we're not doing something cheap like killing her between seasons,'" Raisani said, confirming that Grace's whereabouts will be explained in the premiere. "We wanted to honor her, and I wanted to protect the character and also make the actor feel like she was being valued and respected, even if we weren't able to get her on the show."

Raisani confirmed that McClain will not appear in Season 5 at all.   

9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 cast

All of the other main cast members of 9-1-1: Lone Star, with the exception of McClain, will be returning for the fifth season:

To make up for McClain's absence, the producers of Lone Star decided to promote Jackson Pace, who recurred as Judd's young-adult son Wyatt, to series regular. A first look at the new season revealed that Wyatt, who was seriously injured after being hit by a truck while riding his bike, has followed in Grace's footsteps to become a 911 dispatcher.

Parker Young has also been added to the recurring cast as seasoned Texas Ranger Sam Campbell, who will play a key role in Carlos' storyline this season.

"The first episode is really about Carlos and Campbell in a rivalry, a foot race with each other. And then what they're going to realize by the end of that episode is, 'Boy, we're a lot more effective when we work together. And in fact, we make a pretty amazing partnership,'" Raisani previewed to TV Guide. "Moving forward into the season, we get to play just how complementary these two pieces are together."

9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 creator and crew

9-1-1: Lone Star was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, all of whom are still executive producers of the series. Other executive producers include Bradley Buecker (who directed the series premiere and will direct multiple episodes this season), Alexis Martin Woodall, Rashad Raisani, John J. Gray, Angela Bassett, Rob Lowe, Carly Soteras, and Wolfe Coleman. Minear and Raisani serve as co-showrunners.

Previous coverage of 9-1-1: Lone Star

Ahead of the fifth and final season, check out TV Guide's interviews with the cast and showrunner of 9-1-1: Lone Star during Season 4:

Where to watch 9-1-1: Lone Star

9-1-1: Lone Star is available to stream on Hulu with a subscription. New episodes are typically available the day after they air on Fox.

Watch on Hulu