9-1-1: Lone Star‘s final season is looking a bit different without Sierra McClain and her on-screen husband Jim Parrack reacted to the surprising departure. It was announced over the summer that the actress would not be coming back to Season 5 as 9-1-1 dispatcher Grace Ryder following failed cast renegotiations with Fox. The exit was sudden and shocking, as Grace was certainly a fan favorite for multiple reasons.
While the exit was heartbreaking, Parrack told TVLine that it was “hard to argue” with McClain’s decision. “I love and respect her so much,” he shared. “She’s such a good, high-integrity human being. I said, ‘Look, trust yourself and do whatever you think is best.’ There was no part of me, on a human level or a friend level, that would talk her out of an important decision like that. Of course, I was like, ‘Damn, that’s one of the best acting partners I’ve ever had, and now I’m going to be without her.'”
9-1-1 LONE STAR: L-R: Jim Parrack, Sierra McClain and Gina Torres in the “Road Kill” episode of 9-1-1 LONE STAR airing Tuesday, Mar 21 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX. © 2023 Fox Media LLC.
– Kevin Estrada/FOX)
As for now Lone Star explained Grace’s absence, Judd revealed in the Season 5 premiere that his wife was helping on a Mercy Ship. It’s already been interesting to see how Judd is dealing without Grace, being a single father, and trying to keep busy. But it’s just like Judd to support her decision, as well as Parrack to support McClain’s decision. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like she’ll be returning before the series ends, even if briefly. How the show will continue to move forward without her will be something to look forward to.
With this being the final season, there’s no telling what will happen. Filming for Season 5 wrapped over the summer, but it was only announced last month that this season would be the final one. While it came as a surprise, it was previously reported that Lone Star could be canceled. The series will not be moving to ABC unlike parent series 9-1-1, but there is another spinoff in the works from Ryan Murphy and Tim Minear. Whether any characters from Lone Star could make appearances on the new series or the original series is unknown, but anything is possible.
It’s still sad to watch 9-1-1: Lone Star without Sierra McClain but at the very least, fans can always go back and watch the first four seasons on Hulu if they are ever missing Grace Ryder. And if they don’t mind, new episodes of Lone Star air on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox’s 2024 fall schedule.