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Entertainment Now | January 18 - 24, 2020 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 Austin, Texas, "9-1-1: Lone Star" has all the makings of a majorly successful second installment: a talented, high-profile cast, fan - tastic source material, eye- catching artistic direction and a compelling jumping-off point for the storyline. The brand-new series premieres 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 firefighter in Manhattan during the harrowing events of 9/11, which took the lives of every member of his firehouse 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 uniquely qualified for a job in Texas at Firehouse 126. Tragically, the 126 received a rescue call, and much like Strand's Manhattan team, the result was the devastating 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 re- sponders, specifically police and firefighters: they don't like out- siders. This is true in "9-1-1: Lone Star," too, as Owen Strand is met with a prickly chief para- medic 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 aforementioned stereo- type holds true. The cast is rounded out by Strand's troubled son, T.K. (Ronen Rubenstein, "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 classic part of a modern he- ro's journey, and Owen uses it well, selecting devout Muslim Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam, "The Brave"), the adren- aline junkie, Paul Strickland (Bri- an Michael Smith, "The L Word: Generation Q"), a transgender firefighter with enough brains for the whole house, and Mateo Chavez (Julian Works, "Ameri- can Crime"), who has no known qualities yet, because no team is complete without someone ev- eryone else can call "rookie." Setting the series in Austin, and Texas in general, creates room for some distinctly south- ern emergencies that would seem out of place in Los Ange- les, where the parent series is set. The show's trailer includes a rampaging rodeo bull, for exam- ple. Another small blessing "9- 1-1: Lone Star" appears to be offering viewers is a lack of ter- rible 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 Rehovot, Israel — the series is set up so that the main character's diction and di- alogue won't leave you needing to suspend your disbelief when you hear a New Yorker like Tyler attempting a natural "y'all." Part of what makes the 9-1-1 series special is the way it seam- lessly weaves comedy into a drama that, on the surface, has absolutely no business being light and funny. However, ev- eryone who knows (or is) a po- lice officer, firefighter, para- medic, nurse or any one of the real-life superhero professions knows that this kind of work has two hidden requirements: an iron stomach and a pitch-black sense of humor. These people risk their lives for strangers on a daily basis, of- ten exhausting and sometimes traumatizing 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 psychiat- ric 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 comraderie on the job can keep a first responder sane. In a sneak peek of the upcom- ing series, Lowe said, "To bring to life these characters, who are based on people who are actually out in the trenches saving lives ev- ery 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 series premiere, which airs on Sunday, Jan. 19, on Fox. So far, everything points to the suc- cess of this new offering, and the first episode is sure to leave y'all commin' back now, y'hear? Liv Tyler as seen in "9-1-1: Lone Star" 'Lowe'n Star State: New '9-1-1' spinoff takes on Texas 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Moore's Home Health 5 x 2" 3833 S Lafountain 455-2700 www.NorrisInsurance.com Great insurance. Local Service.

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