The worst-kept secret was that 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 would be its last.
In hindsight, many of us Lone Star Fanatics felt it in our gut that the fifth season would be the writing on the wall long before the official (and recent) news broke of the cancellation.
A number of contributing factors easily led us to the assumption that if we even got a fifth season, it would likely be the last call for the 126.
9-1-1’s Move to ABC was the Canary in a Mine
When 9-1-1 moved over to ABC, it was a bittersweet situation.
For fans of the mother series, it was exciting to see the show move to an arguably bigger network that, with its massive success and reach, could do much more for the series.
The primary reason behind the shift was 9-1-1’s massive budget, and ABC was able to take on the financial risk of acquiring such a costly juggernaut series.
Subsequently, 9-1-1 became bigger and better than ever, as the series was able to evolve in new ways and feel revitalized.
In many ways, the series’ shift to ABC felt like a soft relaunch of the show as it started to feel like a brand-new series, and it has taken on new life.
And that’s great for 9-1-1, no doubt.
The series is having its own renaissance, and 9-1-1 Season 8 will probably be one of the strongest to date, even if we don’t know much about it beyond bees!
However, the downside of that shift to ABC was that it left sister series 9-1-1: Lone Star in a precarious position.
Could a spinoff series survive when it’s on a different network than its predecessor?
We’ll never actually know now that Lone Star’s wrapped fifth season is its final one, and it’s the first time the series will be on the Fall roster since before the strikes.
It has been over a year since it has been on the air, which is not the case for 9-1-1.
9-1-1: Lone Star Taking the Year Off Didn’t Bode Well
Unfortunately, 9-1-1: Lone Star didn’t get the star treatment many other series got when it was time to scramble together something to salvage a strike-ridden year.
Instead of Lone Star returning in the winter/spring of 2024, like everything else, FOX pushed it back to Fall.
When networks push popular series back, it can be a double-edged sword.
For some, like Will Trent and The Rookie on ABC, it’s a marker of how much faith the network has in the series and its desire to carry some of the strongest and most successful series into another season.
Of course, those two series were also high-priority enough to be some of the first to return following the strikes.
But in the case of 9-1-1: Lone Star, it felt as if they were delaying the inevitable and keeping fans in suspense about the fate of their beloved series.
Not only has that been disappointing for viewers and long-time fans because their beloved show hasn’t returned sooner, but it slows down the momentum.
Any momentum that the two-part, action-packed, and emotional 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Finale pulled off has fallen by the wayside.
We’re picking up over a year later as an audience and roughly a few months later within the series.
It disrupts the balance of what the fourth season built up, and now we have a short amount of time to play catch up.
A Significant Cast Member’s Departure is the Ultimate Blow
Rumors regarding cast negotiation swirled for months, which was another factor leading many to assume that the series was on its last legs.
The cast was reportedly released from the contracts after filming the final season, which only confirmed what we already suspected.
However, the cast negotiations led to Sierra McClain’s departure, which is easily one of the series’ biggest blows to date.
We can speculate about how Grace Ryder will depart the series, but no matter how it happens, it doesn’t change that it could feasibly continue without her.
For much of the series, Grace was the heart of the series.
She and Judd were the heart and soul, even though Owen Strand took precedence over the rest of the ensemble.
When you think about this Texan version of 9-1-1, it rests on the laurels of natives Judd and Grace, who center and ground the series and the other characters.
Without her, it doesn’t feel like the series will click the same way.
It’s tough enough to imagine what this final season would have been like without her, let alone what the series could have been like if it had continued even longer.
If anything was a death knell for the series, it was this exit.
In Hindsight, 9-1-1: Lone Star Should’ve Wrapped at Season 4
As tough as it is for many long-time fans to hear, the series was dangerously close to overstaying its welcome in the first place.
It didn’t have the same type of momentum and character and plot development as 9-1-1.
Sadly, when that happens, it can often feel like a series spinning on a wheel with no destination.
That said, the storylines during much of the fourth season evolved well enough that the series could have concluded by the end of the season.
Isn’t it better to end things too early than too late?
In this case, 9-1-1: Lone Star would’ve risked doing that, which would have paid off better.
The moment the original series moved to another network, the writing was on the wall for it.
It must have been in the works for a while, and the conversation must have arisen about what the future holds for 9-1-1: Lone Star in the interim.
But much of 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 felt like the series was preparing for a final season anyway.
The season finale would’ve worked incredibly well as a chapter-ender.
It had devastating deaths, significant life changes, romantic developments with hints of the future, career changes, and Tarlos’ Wedding.
The Tarlos Wedding Would’ve Been the Perfect End of a Chapter
We’ve waited four seasons for a fan-favorite couple like Tarlos to tie the knot, and the finale gave us that in the most bittersweet way imaginable.
But it suited the series and how their lives are filled with hardships that make the little glimmers of hope and joy all the more rewarding.
Despite some quibbles here and there, it was one of the strongest couple of episodes of the series.
All of the characters were in a decent enough place where it felt as if their stories could end, and Tarlos’ wedding was the great event that brought them all together to reflect on how far they’ve come and what the future holds for them.
I don’t know if the series could replicate the excitement, closure, and hope achieved during those episodes in the final season.
The series also had the full cast in its grips during season four, and now, with Grace gone, the final season will be incomplete or at least shortchange fans regarding providing proper closure for everyone.
The Fifth and Final Season Feels like a Formality
It’s true that most fans long to have a final season and official closure for their favorite series.
In these cancel-happy times, we lose many series before we get a proper sendoff.
Even though I understand how frustrating it is when a series abruptly ends without a proper farewell, 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 is one of the rare examples where I’m wary of how well the final season can be.
The series has undergone many changes and shakeups, and there has been such an extended break between seasons that the final season already feels more like a formality than anything else.
The season finale’s strong sense of closure, with just a dash of open-ended storylines, felt like the perfect, considerate wrap-up for viewers.
It almost feels like the fifth season will have to introduce whole new storylines and then work to properly develop and wrap them up with fewer episodes than they did during previous seasons.
Some of the wind was taken out of the sails for the series due to many blows already.
Is it wrong to say that we feel like we were strung along instead of quickly and efficiently put out of our misery?
We’ve been marching to 9-1-1: Lone Star’s funeral for over a year now.
Maybe if we knew what we were facing sooner rather than later, it wouldn’t all feel so underwhelming.
Over to you, 9-1-1: Lone Star Fanatics.
How are you feeling about the cancellation news? Do you think it should’ve just ended after the fourth season? Let’s hear your thoughts below.