The best-kept secret is that the fifth season of 9-1-1: Lone Star will be its last.
In hindsight, many of us Lone Star fanatics instinctively felt that season five was going to be ominous long before the official (and recent) cancellation news broke.
There are many factors at play that make it easy to assume that even if we get a fifth season, this might be the last call for 126.
9-1-1 Migration to ABC is like a canary in the mine
When 9-1-1 moved to ABC, the situation was bittersweet.
For fans of the Mother series, it’s exciting to see the show move to an arguably larger network that, with its massive success and reach, can do even more with the series.
The main reason behind this shift was the massive budget of “9-1-1” and ABC’s ability to take on the financial risk of acquiring such an expensive, large-scale series.
Subsequently, 9-1-1 became bigger and better than ever as the series was able to grow and reinvigorate in new ways.
In many ways, the show’s move to ABC feels like a soft reboot of the show, as it starts to feel like a brand new series and takes on new life.
There is no doubt that this is great for a 9-1-1 formation.
The series is going through a renaissance of its own, and 9-1-1 Season 8 might be one of the strongest yet, even if we know very little about it other than the bees!
The downside of the move to ABC, however, is that it leaves sister show 9-1-1: Lone Star in a precarious position.
Can a spinoff survive when it’s not on the same network as its predecessor?
We’ll never really know now that Lone Star Season 5 has ended, it’s its final season, and it’s the first time the series has been on the fall slate since before the strike.
It’s been on the air for over a year, whereas “9-1-1” has not.
9-1-1: Lone Star taking a year off is not a good sign
Unfortunately, “9-1-1: Lone Star” doesn’t get the star treatment that many other series get when it comes to cobbling something together to salvage a strike-plagued year.
Instead of returning in winter/spring 2024 like other shows, Lone Star is being pushed back to the fall.
It can be a double-edged sword when a network pushes a popular series back to where it started.
To some, like Will Trent and ABC’s The Rookie, it’s a sign of the network’s confidence in the series and its desire to bring some of its strongest and most The desire for a successful series to continue into the next season.
Of course, these two series are also high-priority enough to be among the first to return after the strike.
But in the case of 9-1-1: Lone Star, it feels as though they’re delaying the inevitable, keeping fans in suspense about the fate of their beloved series.
This not only disappointed viewers and long-time fans that their beloved show didn’t return sooner, but it also slowed down momentum.
The action-packed and emotional two-part finale of 9-1-1: Lone Star’s fourth season fell by the wayside.
We as viewers will start watching the series over a year later, in about a few months.
It upsets the balance established by Season 4, and now we only have a short window of time to catch up.
The departure of important actors is the ultimate blow
Rumors about casting negotiations had been circulating for months, another factor that led many to believe the show was on its last legs.
The cast members were reportedly released from their contracts after filming the final season, confirming what we already suspected.
However, casting negotiations that resulted in Sierra McClain’s departure are undoubtedly one of the show’s biggest blows to date.
We can speculate on how Grace Ryder will leave the series, but no matter how it happens, it doesn’t change that the series can still continue without her.
For most of the series, Grace was the heart of the series.
Although Owen Strand takes precedence over the rest of the band, she and Judd are the heart and soul.
When you think about this Texas version of 9-1-1, you realize it’s built on the merits of locals Judd and Grace, who are the center and center of the show and other characters. Base.
Without her, it feels like the series wouldn’t click in the same way.
It’s hard to imagine what the final season would have been like without her, let alone what the series would have been like had it lasted longer.
If anything was the death knell for the series, it was this exit.
In hindsight, 9-1-1: Lone Star should have ended with Season 4
As hard as it is for many long-time fans to accept, the show has been borderline dated since the beginning.
It doesn’t have the same momentum, character, and plot development as 9-1-1.
Sadly, when this happens, it often feels like a series spinning on a wheel with no destination.
That said, the storylines developed well enough throughout most of Season 4 that the series could have ended at the end of the season.
Isn’t it better to end things too early than to end things too late?
In this case, 9-1-1: Lone Star would take the risk and get a better reward.
By the time the original series was transferred to another network, its fate was already grim.
It must have been brewing for a while, and during this time, discussions about the future of 9-1-1: Lone Star must have arisen.
But much of “9-1-1: Lone Star” season 4 feels like the series is gearing up for its final season.
The season finale would work really well as a chapter closer.
It has devastating deaths, major life changes, romantic developments with hints of the future, career changes, and Talos’ wedding.
The Talos wedding would be the perfect ending to this chapter
We’ve waited four seasons for a fan-favorite couple like Talos to tie the knot, and the finale tied the knot for us in the most bittersweet way.
But it’s fitting for the series, and fitting that the hardships of their lives make a glimmer of hope and joy all the more meaningful.
Despite some controversy here and there, this is still one of the best episodes of the series.
All the characters are in a decent enough place to feel like their stories may be coming to an end, and Talos’ wedding is a great event that brings them together to reflect on how far they’ve come and what their future holds.
I don’t know if the show can replicate the excitement, closure, and hope that those episodes in the final season brought.
The show also had its full cast in season 4, and now, with Grace gone, the final season will be incomplete, or at least cheat fans in terms of giving everyone a proper ending.
The fifth and final season feels like a formality
Indeed, most fans are eager for their favorite series to have a final season and officially come to an end.
In these happy times of cancellations, we lose many series before getting a proper farewell.
While I understand how frustrating it can be when a series ends abruptly without a proper farewell, 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 is one of the rare instances where I’m wary of a final season. .
The series has gone through so many changes and shake-ups, with such long breaks between seasons, that the final season already feels more like a formality than anything else.
The season finale’s strong sense of closure, coupled with some open-ended storylines, felt like a perfect, thoughtful wrap-up for viewers.
It almost feels like season five will have to introduce entirely new storylines and then try to properly develop and wrap them up with fewer episodes than previous seasons.
Having already suffered multiple blows, some of the wind has been taken out of the series’ sails.
Is it wrong to say that we feel trapped, rather than freed from pain quickly and effectively?
It’s been over a year since we attended the funeral of “9-1-1: Lone Star.”
Maybe if we had known earlier what we were facing, it wouldn’t have been so frustrating.
Over to you, 9-1-1: Lone Star Fanatics.
How do you feel about the cancellation message? Do you think it should be over after season 4? Let’s hear your thoughts below.
