After several years of success with 9-1-1FOX has optioned a spin-off in 2022 — 9-1-1: Lone Star, set in Austin, Texas, and starring Rob Lowe as firefighter Captain Owen Strand. Although FOX eventually canceled 9-1-1 due to cost concerns (don't worry, ABC picked it up and season 8 will debut on September 26) 9-1-1: Lone Star remained with FOX. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike delayed filming of season five, and the show was pushed back to skip the spring 2023 season entirely, leading to some unexpected fallout with the cast.
The announcement of 9-1-1: Lone StarSeason 5 of came with two unpleasant surprises for fans: Season 5 would also be the show's final season, and fan-favorite character Grace Ryder (Sierra McClain) would not be returning with the rest of the cast. As the season 5 premiere approached, fans began to wonder: what will it be like 9-1-1: Lone Star explain Grace's absence without shattering the strongest and most beloved relationship in the series?
Who is Grace Ryder?
Since the first episode of 9-1-1: Lone StarGrace Ryder was the calm voice on the other end of the phone for both 9-1-1 callers and the police and firefighters hearing from the dispatcher. Her soothing Texas accent was there when Ladder 126 lost all but one of its men in Season 1, Episode 1, “Pilot,” and she was often the voice of reason for her husband, Judd Ryder (Jim Parrack), and later his friend Tommy Vega (Gina Torres), who joined the show in Season 2. Although on 9-1-1, There are several members of the dispatch team that audiences have come to know, Grace remained the primary dispatcher for all four initial seasons of 9-1-1: Lone Star and quickly became a fan favorite.
Grace is known for her devout faith and relationship with God. While she and Judd aren't always on the same page, Grace is always willing to push him to think about his relationship with God, but she never holds it against him. She's also a force to be reckoned with: when a car accident left Grace with a broken leg, she was determined to get back on her feet without any help. Although she finally accepted the help she needed in Season 2, Episode 10, “A Little Help from My Friends,” she has remained as headstrong and independent as ever. In Season 3, Episode 3, “Shock & Thaw” and Episode 4, “Push,” Grace goes into labor in the middle of an ice storm and attempts to drive to the hospital with Judd's estranged friend, Billy Tyson (Billy Burke, now on Country of fire), only to end up stranded by abandoned cars in the snow. Billy finds an abandoned tour bus, and Grace gives birth there, just as Judd, Tommy, and Owen finally find her and Billy. For fans of the series and its characters, there is no one like Grace Ryder.
Grace and Judd are relationship goals
Since Grace and Judd were already married when 9-1-1: Lone Star began, viewers had to wait until Season 2, Episode 9, “Saving Grace,” to learn more about how Grace and Judd got together. After a call triggers a difficult memory from his past, Judd decides to call a prayer hotline. The person who answers is Grace, who tells Judd two important things. First, she quotes Psalm 31, saying, “Never put me to shame. Deliver me in your righteousness. You protect the faithful and reward the good, as long as they trust in you.” Grace then tells him, “None of us are perfect. It is by grace that we are saved.” The conversation sets the tone for their relationship, especially as Judd begins to think that Grace has saved him.
Over the next few months, Judd continues to call the prayer hotline to speak specifically with Grace, and they develop a friendship that only becomes a relationship when he bumps into her at a bar and recognizes her voice. Grace is preparing to leave for Georgetown to pursue a master's degree in Global Politics, but they begin a relationship anyway, much to the disappointment of Grace's father, who doesn't think Judd and his blue-collar job are good enough for Grace. When Grace tells Judd that she's thinking of staying in Austin, he lies and tells her that he doesn't love her because he thinks he'll help her get away. Grace doesn't go anywhere, and when Tommy Vega gives birth to his twins, Judd and Grace meet at the hospital. Judd admits that he lied, and when he asks Grace if she has a boyfriend, she says yes, but he hasn't answered his phone in six months.
Sierra McClain, who plays Grace, was on
Mind Hunter
AND
Empire
prior to
9-1-1: Lone Star
She is also part of the musical trio Thriii with her sisters Lauryn McClain and China Anne McClain, who many people will recognize from Disney movies.
Ant Farm
and the
Descendants
film. Both of Sierra's sisters guest-starred as Grace's sisters in Season 4, Episode 13, “Open,” when Grace's father was in the hospital.
In addition to their sweet courtship, Judd and Grace have built a strong relationship that allows them to face any obstacle head on. Grace is the one who helps Judd connect with Owen when Owen first arrives in town in Season 1, Episode 1, “Pilot,” and she stands by Judd when he learns that a one-night stand in his twenties resulted in a baby boy in Season 3, Episode 5, “Child Care,” even though Wyatt's appearance hurts because he just had Charlie, his daughter with Judd, who he thought was Judd's first child. Grace helps make Wyatt (Jackson Pace, previously on The Walking Dead AND Homeland) a part of their family and supports Judd at the end of season 4 when he decides to retire from the firefighter force to care for Wyatt after an accident left him paralyzed. Their relationship is built on trust and support and fans eagerly await their interactions each season.
Helping others was a call to grace
Although her father wanted her to get a degree from Georgetown, Grace knew she was meant to help people and it didn't matter where she did it.. When Grace chooses not to go to Georgetown, she takes a job as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, where she helps countless people handle emergencies, from fires to overdoses to terrifying accidents. In Season 4, Episode 5, “Human Resources,” Grace even helps a young boy with his multiplication tables and what to do after he burns his grandmother's casserole dish, and hears over the phone that something might be wrong with her mother. When she finally gives in to her worries and goes to her house to see what's going on, she discovers that her mother is having a stroke. Grace and Judd rush her to the hospital, ultimately saving her life.
In Season 3, Episode 7, “Red vs. Blue,” Grace meets a co-worker on the night shift and discovers that people have started calling her “Amazing Grace” because of the way she handles 9-1-1 calls. She's also the operator on the line when a young woman wakes up to find her kidney has been removed in Season 4, Episode 15, “Donors,” and works with Carlos Reyes (Rafael L. Silva) to find out who's kidnapping people and stealing their organs for the black market, even putting herself in danger in the process. Grace, like many of the characters on 9-1-1: Lone Star, She focuses on putting others first, even if it makes her life more difficult.
Why did Grace Ryder leave 9-1-1: Lone Star?
In a Deadline article published in June 2024, Fox Entertainment announced that Sierra McClain would not be returning for the fifth season of 9-1-1: Lone Star. Many of the show's stars attempted to begin renegotiations before season 4, a not uncommon effort for a hit show, but Fox Entertainment delayed negotiations until after the season aired, which then ran into strikes at the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. When the actors attempted to negotiate before season 5, the studio refused, offering them “bonuses” instead. It was after this that McClain parted ways with the studio, leading to Grace Ryder's departure. For months, fans wondered how 9-1-1: Lone Star would deal with Grace's absence by staying true to both her character and Judd. Audiences finally found out when Season 5, Episode 1, “Both Sides, Now,” premiered on Monday, September 23.
“I remember her face the day the Mercy Ship people came to our church, and they put up these pictures of these kids from the orphanage, and they were, you know… kids that the whole world has forgotten about. But kids that, once Grace saw them, she couldn't forget.”
— Judd Ryder, speaking of Grace's new calling.
The season five premiere skipped nine months from the season four finale, which gave the show the opportunity to age Grace and Judd's daughter, Charlie, a bit, and skipped Wyatt's recovery and the birth of his son, Liam. The time jump meant that Judd was no longer Wyatt's caregiver, which gave Grace's absence more meaning. In a conversation with Wyatt, Judd talked about Grace's work with Mercy Ships, a real organization that sends hospital ships around the world to help people in need. Before Grace left, she helped train Wyatt to be a dispatcher, which ensures that viewers still have an emotional connection to the 9-1-1 dispatcher as she helps people around the world. “If I get lost or drifting, I turn to Gracie and she helps me get back on the ground,” Judd told Wyatt in the season five premiere. “But… Grace's not here right now.” Now Judd will have to figure out for himself what to do next.. Grace will be missed 9-1-1: Lone Starbut fans are eager to find out what his absence will really mean for the rest of the Ryder family.
9-1-1: Lone Star airs Mondays at 8:00 PM on FOX and can be streamed the next day on Hulu.