6 Questions Raised With ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ Season 2’s New Characters
9-1-1: Lone Star is losing one of its key cast members ahead of its second season, with Liv Tyler (who played Michelle Blake) exiting due to pandemic-related travel reasons. But there are at least two new characters coming in that are sure to shake things up.
First, Gina Torres has been cast in the series regular role of paramedic captain Tommy Vega, returning to the work force due to the pandemic shutting down her husband’s restaurant. She’ll fill the void left by Tyler’s exit. Also, Lisa Edelstein is going to be recurring as Captain Owen Strand’s (Rob Lowe) ex-wife and T.K.’s (Ronen Rubinstein) mother, Gwyneth, a lawyer from New York.
With the additions of these characters (and Tyler’s departure), we’ve put together a few questions we’re eager to see answered below.
9-1-1: Lone Star, Season 2, 2021, Fox
What will Tommy Vega be like on calls?
We saw Michelle take charge from her first interaction with Owen on a call. Will Tommy Vega’s introduction be similar? (After all, showrunner Tim Minear said Torres “brings … command to everything she does.”) And will we see that that’s different from how she was before she hung up her uniform to raise her daughters?
Will the dynamic at the firehouse change?
Not only did we watch Michelle and Owen bond throughout the first season, but we also saw the way the other paramedics responded to her. It’s not a question of whether or not the paramedics and firefighters will be able to work with Tommy (they will), but what will things be like around the house when they’re not on calls? How long will it take for Tommy to get used to that life again? Will she know anyone there from before she stepped back from work? With her family at home, she may be less likely to join the others after shift at the bar (though given the pandemic, that’s probably out anyway).
How will Michelle be written out?
The premiere has to address Michelle’s absence, and with the door open for her to return, at least we know she won’t be killed off. But will she still be in Texas? Will the others be supposedly seeing her offscreen at times?
What can we expect from Tommy's family?
We know that Tommy is married with twin daughters, and her husband’s restaurant went under as a result of the pandemic. Given how much her family is mentioned in her character’s description, we expect we’ll see all of them at least occasionally. Will her marriage be strained because of these career changes? Will the kids be attending school virtually from home?
How will having Gwyneth in town affect Owen?
We saw Owen adapting to Austin, dealing with his cancer, and starting to date in the first season. What will having his ex-wife in town from New York mean for him? Will we see more of what he was like before the move just by him being around her?
What will Gwyneth being around mean for T.K.?
We’ve seen what T.K. is like around his father in Austin, and we know a bit of what his life was like in New York from the beginning of the series. But with Edelstein recurring, we’ll get to see T.K. around his mother quite a bit. Will she chime in about his relationship choices? It would be so much fun to see T.K. and Carlos sit down for dinner with both Owen and Gwyneth.
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