Ryan Murphy has addressed the unfortunate cancellation of 9-1-1: Lone Star, the spin-off of the popular 9-1-1 series starring Rob Lowe that premiered in 2020 on Fox. The show, which highlights the lives of first responders in Austin, Texas, is set to conclude with its fifth season. While the main 9-1-1 series continues on ABC after Fox cancelled it, and has recently begun its eighth season, 9-1-1: Lone Star premiered its final season on September 23. The final installment will feature 12 episodes and see the return of familiar cast members including the likes of Lowe, Ronen Rubinstein, Jim Parrack, Natacha Karam, Brian Michael Smith, Rafael L. Silva, and Julian Works.
In an interview with Variety, Murphy — who co-created both 9-1-1 and Lone Star alongside Tim Minear and Brad Falchuk — explained the reasons behind the much-loved show’s cancellation, pointing to financial challenges in keeping things going. He mentioned that the difficulties were due to the fact that it was a Disney-run show but on the Fox network, implying that there was some kind of mismatch in corporate structures with the two unable to work with each other.
Despite the end of Lone Star, the franchise will continue with the original 9-1-1 series and a new spin-off set in a “new city,” as revealed by Murphy during the conversation. He suggested that the conclusion of Lone Star was unavoidable. Below is Murphy’s full statement:
“Sadly, we all love ‘Lone Star,’ but the financials just didn’t work. It’s a Disney company that was on a Fox network, and it just was never going to work. And we had a long run of it. So now we’re going to launch a new show in a new city that I can’t name, but it’s fun.”
Doesn’t Disney Own Fox?
Well, it does and it doesn’t. As Murphy explained, aside from the typical financial challenges that long-running TV shows often face, a key problem with continuing 9-1-1: Lone Star was the fact that it was associated with two different companies. 20th Television is now a part of Disney Television Studios, while the show was broadcast on the Fox network, which was not included when Disney made their blockbuster purchase of 20th Century Studios a few years back. The acquisition made licensing the show more complicated and costly than it would have been if Fox had produced it originally.
