911: Lone Star boss explains changes in Judd due to Sierra McClain's exit

911: Lone Star fans are surprised at the new plotline with Judd which turns out to be because of a huge cast exit!

Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for 911: Lone Star Season 5

911: Lone Star fans were already upset to learn that Season 5 would be the last for the Fox spinoff. It got worse when it was announced Sierra McClain would not be returning for it. Her marriage to firefighter Judd (Jim Parrack) was one of the highlights of the show. It also made little sense narratively as Judd had just quit the 126 and was raising paralyzed son Wyatt (Jackson Pace).

The season premiere explained Grace had been moved to join a missionary group with Judd seemingly supportive of it. Helping the team in an emergency had Judd returning to the 126 but now as a probie. 

The midseason finale had Owen (Rob Lowe) surprised to be offered a job as a fire chief in New York. He and Judd talked about it with Judd supportive and Owen hoping that Judd could somehow become his replacement at the 126. The pair later went out for drinks with Judd throwing back a few to complain about Grace leaving him.

Bringing a drunk Judd home, Owen saw the place was a mess with scores of empty bottles and realized Judd’s “illness” at work was him hung over. He confronted Judd, who confessed he’d turned to drinking to fill the hole left by Grace but was adamant he’d never been drunk on the job. 

Owen revealed he’d turned down the New York offer as “I’d rather lose an opportunity than lose a friend.” He told Owen he had to change his attitude and it started with driving him to a meeting. 

It’s a big turn for Owen and driven by the need of the writers to make up for McClain’s absence.

How did McClain leaving change Judd’s storyline in 911: Lone Star?

Speaking to TV Insider, co-showrunner Rashad Raisani shared how they had a framework for Judd’s storyline set but McClain’s departure forced a big change. It was also a reminder of how Judd had been a drinker before he met Grace. 

“And to be frank with you, we weren’t going to do this story this year. It wasn’t until Sierra McClain didn’t come back and therefore Grace didn’t come back that that led us to start thinking about, well, who is Judd without Grace? And we can’t hide the fact that she was such a stabilizing force in his life. And even though he has, on the outside, all of these things around him to stay strong for, on the inside, his center is gone. And so we really wanted to play that. And I think if you go back in this season all the way to Episode 1, Owen shows up in the middle of the day, and Judd’s like, “Hey, you want to drink?” And every scene we played at the house, there was always a beer out. This is something that’s been going on all year. And because that’s who he was the minute before he met Grace.”

Raisani revealed that had McClain stuck around, Grace would have had a “spiritual crisis” and “we were going to flip their usual dynamic where Judd was more of the scaffolding and the strength for Grace, and they were going to end the series probably with a second kid and happy. We were definitely going to give them a happy ending.”

Sadly, as the show wrapped up filming Season 5 before the cancellation announcement, McClain won’t be able to return for the finale. Fans are still upset about Grace’s departure even as it leads to a big plotline for Judd. Yet it shows that when a big star leaves, it throws a wrench into a show and 911: Lone Star had to change a lot for its final season.

911: Lone Star Season 5 returns on Monday, January 20 at 8/7c on Fox.