9-1-1: Lone Star Showrunner Breaks Down Midseason Finale’s Shocking Betrayal
9-1-1: Lone Star wrapped its five-season run by revealing that Chief Bridges (Alan Autry) killed Gabriel Reyes (Benito Martinez) and set up Ranger Campbell (Parker Young) to take the fall. Executive producer Rashad Raisani recently explained why Bridges was the perfect character to carry out the ultimate betrayal.
“We knew that the betrayal had to hit as close to home as possible because the person Carlos trusted the most would be the only person who could have kept it from him this long,” Raisani told Screen Rant. “And frankly, we also wanted somebody of Alan Autry’s gravitas. He was the only person capable of pulling the wool over Gabriel’s eyes also.”
“So that was part of why I really wanted it to be the person who could hurt Carlos the most to be the one who did it, because he was the only one who could stay in front of these two brilliant minds being Carlos and Gabriel the way that he did,” Raisani continued. “And I also was hoping that the audience, because of Parker Young, and I love Parker, but he has this sort of rakish, quasi-cocky manner about him that the audience would go, ‘Okay, you know what? I can kind of see this cocky guy might do this.'”
But Raisani says Campbell was never capable of murder. “One thing I know about Parker is that he has this deep goodness about him,” he explained. “And I think at the end of this episode, you see when he’s in the hospital, and I think his performance is brilliant, but he’s almost crying because he’s still mourning their chief who betrayed him. The main point is the person that Carlos and Gabriel trusted the most in the world was the only one who could have been capable of deceiving them.”
A New 9-1-1 Spinoff Might Be In The Works
Now that the Austin-based show has come to an end, another 9-1-1 spinoff is reportedly in the works at ABC. While a new show hasn’t officially received a series order, Las Vegas has been tapped as the city for the show. 9-1-1: Lone Star was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear. The series premiered in 2020 and served as a spinoff to flagship procedural drama 9-1-1.
“The story follows sophisticated New York firefighter Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) who relocates to Austin, Texas with his son,” the official synopsis reads. “Once there, he must try to balance the duties of saving those who are at their most vulnerable and solving the problems in his own life.” The evolving cast also featured Ronen Rubinstein, Jim Parrack, Natacha Karam, Brian Michael Smith, Rafael L. Silva, Julian Works, Gina Torres, Brianna Baker, and Sierra McClain as Grace Ryder.
