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2 • January 19 - 25, 2020 • Brainerd Dispatch By Breanna Henry TV Media T he first-responder series "9-1-1" is currently Fox's highest-rated drama, so it stands to reason that it should get its own spinoff. Set in Aus- tin, Texas, "9-1-1: Lone Star" has all the makings of a majorly successful second installment: a talented, high- profile cast, fantastic source material, eye-catching artistic direction and a compelling jumping-off point for the storyline. The brand-new series pre- mieres Sunday, Jan. 19, on Fox. "Lone Star" is centered around a character named Owen Strand, who is played by former Brat Packer Rob Lowe ("Code Black"). You can think of him as a variation of "9-1- 1's" Bobby Nash (Peter Krause), only shorter, a little older and with a more chiselled jawline. Nearly 20 years before "9-1-1: Lone Star" opens, Owen worked as a firefight- er in Manhattan during the harrow- ing events of 9/11, which took the lives of every member of his fire- house but him. The lone survivor, he spent the next decade rebuilding his team from the ground up, and this unenviable entry on Capt. Owen Strand's resume makes him unique- ly qualified for a job in Texas at Fire- house 126. Tragically, the 126 received a res- cue call, and much like Strand's Man- hattan team, the result was the dev- astating loss of all of the responders but one. The parallel tragedies set the stage for "9-1-1: Lone Star," and act as the catalyst for Strand's move from the Big Apple to the Lone Star State. There is a stereotype about close- knit teams of first responders, specifi- cally police and firefighters: they don't like outsiders. This is true in "9- 1-1: Lone Star," too, as Owen Strand is met with a prickly chief paramedic Michelle Watts (Liv Tyler, "Harlots") and Firehouse 126's sole survivor, Judd Ryder (Jim Parrack, "The Deuce"). Watts is a genius and Judd is a cowboy, but both of them seem to agree that the aforemen- tioned stereotype holds true. The cast is rounded out by Strand's troubled son, T.K. (Ronen Ruben- stein, "Dead of Summer"), officer Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva, "Fluidity" 2019) and the captain's hand-picked team of firefighters. The "Fine ... but I get to pick my team" trope is a clas- sic part of a modern hero's jour- ney, and Owen uses it well, se- lecting devout Muslim Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam, "The Brave"), the adrenaline junkie, Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith, "The L Word: Generation Q"), a trans- gender firefighter with enough brains for the whole house, and Mateo Chavez (Ju- lian Works, "Ameri- can Crime"), who has no known quali- ties yet, because no team is complete without someone everyone else can call "rookie." Setting the series in Austin, and Texas in general, creates room for some distinctly southern emergen- cies that would seem out of place in Los Angeles, where the parent series is set. The show's trailer includes a rampaging rodeo bull, for example. Another small blessing "9-1-1: Lone Star" appears to be offering viewers is a lack of terrible Texas accents. In fact, the only team member (so far) who is meant to be from Texas is ac- tually played by an actor from Texas (Parrack). Though the cast hails from all over — from Michigan to Rehov- ot, Israel — the series is set up so that the main character's diction and dialogue won't leave you needing to suspend your disbelief when you hear a New Yorker like Tyler attempt- ing a natural "y'all." Part of what makes the 9-1-1 se- ries special is the way it seamlessly weaves comedy into a drama that, on the surface, has absolutely no business being light and funny. How- ever, everyone who knows (or is) a police officer, firefighter, paramedic, nurse or any one of the real-life su- perhero professions knows that this kind of work has two hidden require- ments: an iron stomach and a pitch- black sense of humor. These people risk their lives for strangers on a daily basis, often ex- hausting and sometimes traumatiz- ing themselves for the sake of people they don't even know. If they want to pretend to hit a hole-in-one with a recently amputated leg, then I say swing away (that particular story comes from my aunt, a psychiatric ER nurse who chuckled along with the paramedics when that quirky event played out). A bit of humor goes a long way towards keeping the terrors at bay, and fun comrade- rie on the job can keep a first re- sponder sane. In a sneak peek of the upcoming series, Lowe said, "To bring to life these characters, who are based on people who are actually out in the trenches saving lives every single day, is a profound honor for me." You can catch Lowe and the rest of the "9-1-1: Lone Star" cast in the se- ries premiere, which airs on Sunday, Jan. 19, on Fox. So far, everything points to the success of this new of- fering, and the first episode is sure to leave y'all commin' back now, y'hear? 'Lowe'n Star State New '9-1-1' spinoff takes on Texas Cover Story this week Liv Tyler as seen in "9-1-1: Lone Star" A Little Late With Lilly Singh I remember my parents always saying, "You can get a dog when you get married." My only thought to that was, "Why would I want two dogs?" You can tell how old someone is just by asking them what their first gaming system was. Mine was the original Nintendo, my older sister had an Atari, and my parents had the one where you're in a car going as fast as you can while a hundred other cars drive towards you and you're constantly swerving to avoid hitting pedestrians. It was called "driving in India." Conan Impeachment has reached a new level of nasty because today, President Trump sent a scathing letter to house speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump ended the letter with, "If you like me check 'YES.'" HBO's "The Watchmen" aired its season finale on Sunday. Critics are saying the first season ended so perfectly the show should not be renewed. Ladies and gentlemen, that is exactly the reason I've been on the air for 26 years. It's been reported that in the upcoming film version of "Cats," the editors digitally removed an actor's penis. When asked about it, the actor said, "I wish they did it digitally!" The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Leading up to Christmas, Target is staying open extra late for shoppers. While over at Walmart, the windows are still smashed from Black Friday, so you can come and go anytime. House Democrats put out a 658-page report that details why Trump should be impeached. Who is gonna read 658 pages? The last time Americans read something that long, it ended with Voldemort fighting Harry Potter. Kids are now using money apps instead of piggy banks. It's gonna get even weirder when kids tell the Tooth Fairy, "Just Venmo me." Late Laughs Downloadthe"VistBrainerd"App intheAppleorGooglePlayStores. Events,lodgingandthingstodo inthepalmofyourhand. VISITBRAINERD PlanningYour VisittoBrainerd JustGotEasier. TheOfficialDMOforBaxterandBrainerd,MN EntertainmentGuide_July_2x4.indd 1 6/26/2019 12:42:53PM 218-829-5278 321 South 7th Street Suite 105 • Brainerd, MN 56401 Sunday, June 28, 2020 10 am to 4 pm Located in Gregory Park Brainerd MN 56401 JOIN US! Come See Some Amazing Art Talents At Work! (Artists, Food Vendors, Family Activities, Guitarists & Singer/Song Writers) Truth Lutheran Church 501 Kingwood Street, Brainerd, MN (Corner of 5th & Kingwood) truthlutheranchurch.com An LCMC Congregation …Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ Sunday worship 9 AM Fellowship and Sunday school following worship

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