Ahhh, yes. If you know anything about me, then you undoubtedly know that I am quite literally the biggest fan of 9-1-1: Lone Star to ever exist. Not only am I the show’s self-proclaimed biggest fan, but I also run the biggest fan account for the show on Twitter, which is unprofessional to admit but, for the sake of this article, I will be using it as a flex. I’m also the only fan that the show’s official handle follows on Twitter—thank you to the random FOX employee who made that happen.
So, with all that flexing out of the way, should you be surprised that I’m taking advantage of my newfound writing abilities to talk about it? No, not at all. YOU KNEW THIS WAS COMING!
As a die-hard Lone Star fan, the second season left me with many burning questions and hopes for the show’s upcoming third season. Between reading theories online and hearing what the cast and crew have been saying ahead of filming, it’s safe to say I’m feeling a bit nervous for what could possibly be headed our way when the show returns in January. Except, something we’ve learned the hard way with Lone Star is just when you think things are unfolding in the way you’re expecting them to, the show pulls a complete 180° and leaves you speechless.
This show has caused me nothing but emotional pain. Countless sleepless nights and a whirlwind of post-season depression, but nonetheless, it’s a show I will continue to watch religiously no matter what because there’s no other show out there that has given me quite the yeehaw serotonin rush that 9-1-1: Lone Star has continued to provide me with for two whole seasons now.
Without further ado, let’s get into what we hope to see in Season 3. )
1. Grace’s pregnancy
A big fear for 9-1-1: Lone Star fans during the hiatus has been that the show will come back and completely time-jump over Grace’s pregnancy, which was considered a massive talking point of the show’s second season. As excited as we are to see Grace and Judd in their parenting era, I’m praying we get to see the couple preparing to be parents like we saw with Chim and Maddie over on the mothership series during its fourth season. Judd and Grace are such an established couple within the Lone Star world but, when it comes down to it, we haven’t really seen much from the outside of their origin-centric episode “Saving Grace.” For them to hit fast forward on what is perhaps the biggest moment in Judd and Grace’s life feels wrong and would be a real punch to the gut for all the #JACE fans out there.
So, Lone Star writers: you have one job. DON’T MESS IT UP OR WASTE IT; GIVE US WHAT WE WANT!
2. A solo storyline for Nancy
After Season 2’s finale, FOX confirmed that they were bumping Nancy Gillian (Brianna Baker) up to a series regular role for Season 3, which fans were more than ecstatic about after watching some of her epic scene-stealing moments throughout the second season. It truly came as no surprise that Nancy would be moving up to a regular as we witnessed T.K. making big gestures to involve her in 126 activities outside the firehouse, as well as the strong fanbase on Twitter rooting for a relationship to form between her and series regular Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam).
Brianna Baker is an incredibly talented actress who has proved countless times throughout her run on the show that she is more than capable of being a series lead, most notably her scenes in the Season 2 episode “2100°” in which we see her character, Nancy, deal with the untimely demise of her co-worker and best friend, Tim. It would be a complete waste on the writers’ behalf not to utilise her abilities in this upcoming season to make something magical out of her character, who has mostly been in the shadows of the 126 up until this moment. The writers have a good thing on their hands by making her a regular; let’s just hope they can execute it in a way that does her character justice.
3. A more engaged crossover between Lone Star and its mothership, 9-1-1.
In the Season 2 episode “Hold the Line,” we see Buck, Eddie, and Hen from the show’s sister series, 9-1-1, pull up in the beloved 118 fire engine to help fight a massive wildfire that is spreading out of control deep within Texas. As epic and heart-stopping the crossover proved to be, we didn’t get to witness the characters whom we really wanted to see cross paths actually meet. Most famously, Athena and Carlos not only failed to meet in the crossover but instead were missing from the crossover completely.
Now, I completely understand that we will never actually get a whole cast crossover, seeing as 9-1-1 is set in Los Angeles and Lone Star is set in Texas, meaning, in order for a whole cast crossover to happen, the writers would have to come up with an excuse to have Fire, EMS, Police and resident 9-1-1 operators from either show all travel to another state together—which isn’t impossible but would be a mess to try and execute with such little time—so that’s not what I’m asking for. Instead, I’m asking for this upcoming crossover to mix up who they put front and centre so we can finally see some of our dream-team-ups come to life; not to say that the Buck and T.K. team-up wasn’t epic—it was, and I still geek out over it almost six months later.
4. Our beloved Buttercup.
In Season 1, we met Buttercup; a Bernese Mountain Dog diagnosed with the same type of lung cancer as our leading firehouse captain, Owen Strand, who, as an impulse decision, decides to adopt the dog as a companion for him throughout his own cancer journey. With Buttercup playing a big part in the show’s premiere season, with opening up old wounds for Owen’s son T.K., who now has to worry about losing both his father and now the dog that has taken an adorable likeness to him, you’d expect Buttercup to be front and centre with the gang for the show’s second season, right? Well, you’d be wrong. Buttercup made roughly three major appearances throughout the Season’s 14-episode run.
This could just be me speaking out of the fact that I grew an attachment to Buttercup in Season 1, but it felt strange as to why this fluffy, pure bundle of joy who stole our hearts in the show’s early days suddenly wasn’t showing up randomly like he used to. So, I propose, even if it serves absolutely no relevance to the plot, that we sneak the fluffy boy into some scenes to lighten up what’s usually a very dark and timid series. Hell, give us a Buttercup Begins episode. I just want him back on our screens. Also, more T.K. and Buttercup scenes in Season 3, please? Thank you.
5. Another episode written by Tonya Kong.
Tonya Kong is like the Picasso of screenwriting; any episode that she has crafted for the 9-1-1 world has immediately stood out amongst the others. Kong penned the episode “Monster Inside,” which was hands down the greatest episode of the show’s freshman season back in 2020, as well as back-to-back episodes “Bad Call” and “Saving Grace” in Season 2, where she crafted an origin story for Grace and Judd that was so raw and beautiful that it literally brought tears to my eyes while watching. She has a way of writing that does the characters and the world they reside in such an incredible amount of justice; she understands and spotlights each character in a way that no other writer so far has been able to, and for that, I will forever appreciate her being apart of the team that brings this show to life, which is why I can’t wait to hopefully see more from her in the seasons to come.
6. Continued happiness for T.K.
T.K. Strand has been through quite a bit since we met him in the show’s pilot episode last year, from countless near-death experiences, his battle with his addiction, the home that he had with his boyfriend Carlos Reyes being burnt to the ground thanks to a serial arsonist, as well living with the constant fear of losing what family he has left, it’s safe to say T.K. has had a pretty unfair run around the block these past two seasons. With that being said, Season 2 did end on a brighter note for T.K. with almost everything going well for him; he’s got a loving boyfriend, a father who’s finally recovering from lung cancer, and a younger brother who is soon to make his entrance into the world. Things are going so well for him that, after all that he’s been through, it would almost feel criminal if the writers were to throw another speed bump in his journey or send him down a path of relapsing, as fans so fearfully expect. T.K. is a character who is so well crafted, layered, and portrayed by an actor with impeccable talent (Ronen Rubinstein), so I understand the temptation for the writers to send him down another spiral of emotional trauma. I just hope he finally gets given the break he has so longingly deserved in this upcoming season.
