‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ Casts ‘Angel’s Julie Benz & Amy Acker in Season 3

Meredith Jacobs December 20, 2021, 5:00 pm

Captain Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) is crossing paths with a couple Angel vets on 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Julie Benz and Amy Acker will be guest starring — not together, sadly — in Season 3 of the Fox first responder drama, TV Insider has learned exclusively. Benz will first appear in the premiere, while Acker will show up in the fifth episode, airing February 7.

Benz will play Sadie, an artist and outdoors woman with the humility and wonder of a naturalist but the swagger and brass of a native Texan. She’s in the cabin next to Owen’s in the hill country.

“Sadie is there for this first adventure [of the ice storm hitting Austin], and she absolutely could come back at some point,” executive producer Tim Minear says. “Owen and Sadie are not really a romantic coupling so much as two formidable self-assured people who find each other in a moment of crisis.”

'9-1-1: Lone Star' Takes on an Ice Storm in Season 3 Teaser (VIDEO)

Acker’s Catherine, the chief of staff to the governor of Texas, is described as an alpha, as well as accomplished, beautiful, and formidable. She will appear in multiple episodes. “She’s in the political world in sort of a rarified space. She’s somebody who will come into Owen’s orbit,” Minear says. The two have an instant connection, and their dynamic is “super fun and sexy.”

Benz’s TV credits include the aforementioned Angel (as Darla), On Becoming a God in Central Florida, Hawaii Five-0, and Dexter. In addition to playing Fred (then Illyria) on Angel, Acker’s credits include Suits, The Gifted, and Person of Interest.

As you’ll recall, Season 2 of 9-1-1: Lone Star ended with the 126 being shut down, and Owen punching the person to deliver the news: Billy Tyson (Billy Burke), Austin’s next Deputy Fire Chief. (Owen had turned down the job.)

9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 3 Premiere, Monday, January 3, 8/7c, Fox