EXCLUSIVE: It’s official: the upcoming fifth season of Fox’ 9-1-1: Lone Star will be his last. The last 12 episodes of the first responder drama begin on September 23rd, with the series finale scheduled for early 2025.
This represents a milestone for Fox as Lonely Star is the network’s last drama series produced by its former sister company 20th Television, which provided the majority of Fox’s scripted content before the television studio was sold to Disney along with other assets in 2019. (20th TV is also behind Fox’s traditional animated comedies, which are being renewed this season.)
Like the mother ship 9-1-1which ended last year after six seasons on Fox, the discontinuation of Lonely Star is a product of the changing economics of the television business, particularly in the linear sector and especially in non-vertically integrated broadcast networks.
As opposed to 9-1-1, Lone Star is not expected to move to ABC, the new sister station of 9-1-1 Franchise producer 20th TV, which has renewed the flagship series for eight seasons. But 9-1-1 could get another spinoff on ABC in a new location, with Las Vegas rumored to be one of the possible cities that could follow Los Angeles (9-1-1) and Austin (9-1-1: Lone Star).
9-1-1: Lone Star The end of the series gives Fox a marketing opportunity to promote Season 5 as a farewell to the series, something the network was unable to do 9-1-1 due to the upcoming move to ABC.
“From the beginning, fans have followed the heroic and deeply moving stories of the men and women who make up Austin’s 126, so a huge thank you goes out to one of the best creative teams in all of television – Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear – for creating one of the most action-packed dramas ever,” said Michael Thorn, president of the Fox TV Network. “Now, in our final season of the series, we can give it the thrilling send-off it deserves, complete with heart-pounding rescues, insurmountable obstacles and relatable personal struggles, thanks to our unparalleled, stellar cast led by Rob Lowe and Gina Torres.”
This is not a sudden development. As Deadline reported in June, most of the main cast had assumed that the 9-1-1: Lone Star ended with season 5 late last year after two unsuccessful attempts to renegotiate the contract. After the last attempt, original cast member Sierra McClain left the series, while several other actors auditioned, met and auditioned for other projects months ago.
They are now free to do so – as Deadline reported, the casting options had already expired when production on Season 5 ended on July 19 and, as expected, were not picked up.
Still, I heard that Fox contacted 20th TV just last month about possibly renewing the series, but the door to more 9-1-1: Lonely Star is now finally closed. (Series star and executive producer Rob Lowe, who has a first-look contract with the channel, where he also hosts the game show and is an executive producer The floorwould have been willing to return after the cast’s options expired if a way could be found for a sixth season.)
“The economics of this show would not pay off for us,” said Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade about 9-1-1 when the series moved to ABC in May 2023.
Although not quite as expensive as 9-1-1Spin-off Lonely Star has a similar economy. Developed as a high-end drama series by a vertically integrated studio years before the sky fell on broadcast television, 9-1-1: Lone Star Production costs are significantly higher than the $3 million to $4 million per episode that Fox aims for with its current disciplined approach as an indie network for dramas.
Since Fox has no ownership rights to 9-1-1: Lone Starit pays a license fee, which the broadcaster wanted to continue doing. But in producing the show, the Disney-owned broadcaster 20th TV ran up a “deficit” that covered the gap between the amount of the license fee and the production costs of the series.
This is said to have contributed to the decision not to broadcast any original episodes of Lonely Star during the 2023-24 season, which was impacted by strike-related production delays. As Deadline reported, Fox had been pitching an 18-episode order, 6 episodes mid-season in 2024 after the strike and 12 in fall 2024, but ultimately had to settle for 12 episodes for the fall. (9-1-1 delivered 10 episodes for ABC last season.)
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9-1-1: Lone Star
Lowe plays Captain Owen Strand, a New York City firefighter who moves to Austin with his adult son TK (Ronen Rubinstein) to rebuild a firehouse that has itself been the scene of a tragedy. Strand’s new team includes Captain Tommy Vega (Gina Torres), Judd Ryder (Jim Parrack), Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam), Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith) and fireman Mateo Chavez (Julian Works). Rafael Silva and Brianna Baker also star.
In the upcoming fifth season, Captains Strand and Vega, along with Team 126, jump into action when a catastrophic train derailment puts several lives in danger, including some of their own, in the multi-episode opening storyline.
9-1-1: Lone Star was developed and executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear. Bradley Buecker, who directed the series premiere, also serves as an executive producer, along with Rashad Raisani, John J. Gray, Angela Bassett, Lowe, Carly Soteras and Wolfe Coleman.
Taking over the title as Fox flagship drama after 9-1-1Departure, Lonely Star was ranked as a top 10 drama among adults 18-49 (L+7) for every season it aired. Season 4 averaged 9.6 viewers across multiple platforms, more than doubling its live and same-day airing (+166%).
