9-1-1: Lone Star may be over, but the franchise’s upcoming Tennessee spinoff seems eerily similar, for better or worse. The Texas-based offshoot of the franchise began in 2020, with Rob Lowe leading the 9-1-1: Lone Star cast as Captain Owen Strand, a firefighter who moves to Texas with his son, TK (Ronen Rubinstein). Together, the father-son duo build a firehouse in Austin, Texas following the disaster that killed the previous 126 crew, save for Judson “Judd” Ryder (Jim Parrack). Along with Judd, Owen assembles a dream team to respond to quirky and catastrophic emergencies in the greater Austin area. Unfortunately, 9-1-1: Lone Star’s cancelation came after its fourth season aired, cementing the fifth entry as the last in the series. With other roadblocks, like Sierra McClain leaving the show and taking mainstay Grace Ryder with her, the final season of 9-1-1: Lone Star seemed doomed from the beginning. The Texas spinoff pulled no punches in its final episodes, introducing storylines like Tommy Vega (Gina Torres) discovering her breast cancer, Mateo Chavez (Julian Works) facing deportation, and Judd suffering from alcoholism. 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 12 resolved its biggest issues, but the series finale now feels moot.
Chris O’Donnell’s Captain Don Sharpe From 9-1-1: Nashville Is Too Similar To Lone Star’s Owen Strand
A Captain Working With His Son Was One Of Lone Star’s Main Selling Points What makes 9-1-1: Lone Star’s ending feel counter-intuitive is how the upcoming Nashville spinoff seems poised to merely replace it. The first confirmed cast member of 9-1-1: Nashville is Chris O’Donnell as Don Sharpe, “a rugged fire captain […] who runs Nashville’s busiest firehouse with his beloved son” (via Deadline). Immediately, Sharpe’s character reads as a copycat of the Strands from 9-1-1 Lone Star. It was unique when Lone Star introduced the father-son dynamic at the firehouse, since there was nothing like it in the original series. Now that Nashville is directly following Lone Star, it feels like an imitation. 9-1-1: Lone Star’s ending gave Owen and TK their happy-ever-afters, but seeing the same dynamic at the heart of the next franchise entry makes the carefully crafted endings feel inconsequential. Even the traits that are meant to set Don Sharpe apart are immediately recognizable in other 9-1-1: Lone Star characters, like Don’s rodeo experience feeling reminiscent of Judd’s backstory and how he had Wyatt (Jackson Pace). The only aspect of the character that seems truly unique is that Don Sharpe is described as a devoted husband, breaking the 9-1-1 franchise’s silliest trend of captains starting the series as bachelors.
9-1-1: Nashville’s Captain Could Have Helped Set The Spinoff Apart From Lone Star
The Protagonist Could Have Ensured Some Originality Aside from feeling similar to the Strands, Don Sharpe’s character hints at an underlying issue in 9-1-1: Nashville. The very setting of the impending spinoff is risky, with 9-1-1: Lone Star potentially sabotaging Nashville due to already having explored such regionally-distinct storylines. Compared to Texas, Nashville doesn’t provide a dramatic change of scenery, weather, or— most importantly— culture. There are unique characteristics to Nashville, but the nuances will inevitably be lost in translation and feel indistinguishable from 9-1-1: Lone Star. But aside from the location, O’Donnell’s loving husband and father simply fails to offer anything new as a protagonist. 9-1-1: Nashville could’ve [had] a new kind of captain— a woman, a person of color, a younger firefighter who was just promoted— but instead it perpetuates the status quo with a predictable lead.
Following Peter Krause’s Captain Bobby Nash from the flagship series, Don Sharpe will be the third captain in as many series to be an aging white man with complicated family problems. Bobby, Owen, and Don could each individually be great protagonists for a standalone series, but them being presented as the protagonists sequentially in the 9-1-1 franchise implies a frustrating pattern. 9-1-1: Nashville could’ve easily made a name for itself by having a new kind of captain— a woman, a person of color, a younger firefighter who was just promoted— but instead it perpetuates the status quo with a predictable lead.
