9-1-1: Lone Starhas lost its female lead, as Liv Tyler has left the Fox spinoff series ahead of its upcoming second season. In the first season of the9-1-1spinoff, Tyler starred as EMS captain Michelle Blake alongside Rob Lowe as New York firefighter Owen Strand. Similar to how9-1-1star Connie Britton departed the original series after its first season on Fox, it has now been confirmed Tyler has exitedLone Starafter just one season, reportedly due to the health and safety concerns currently associated with worldwide travel.
“What a thrill it was having a movie star of Liv Tyler’s stature to help us launch the first season of911: Lone Star,” said series showrunner Tim Minear. “We loved working with Liv and will be forever indebted to her for her haunting, powerful portrayal of Michelle Blake. While we were able to tell a complete chapter in Michelle’s story, as withConnie Brittonon our mothership, we also feel like there are more stories to be told. The door here will always be open for a return.”
As Minear notes, there is still hope forLiv Tylerto return to the9-1-1franchise at some point in the future. Her character will not be recast, and she’ll be presumably written out of the series in a way that leaves the door open for a potential return. That will of course depend on howLone Starperforms when it continues without Michelle Blake starting in the second season. It should be noted that original9-1-1star Connie Britton reprised the role of 911 operator Abby Clark with a special guest appearance in the parent show’s third season.
Stepping in to replace Tyler as the new female lead for9-1-1: Lone StarisSuitsstar Gina Torres. She’ll be playing retired paramedic captain Tommy Vega, a mother of twin daughters who is forced to return to work when her husband’s restaurant goes under. The character is described as someone who will “show the world that no matter how much time has passed, when she puts on that uniform, she’s still a boss.” Torres' casting on the show also reunited her with Minear, who previously worked with the actress as a writer and executive producer forFirefly.
9-1-1: Lone Starpremiered to strong ratings and reviews on Fox at the start of the year. With the series continuously drawing high ratings during its freshman season, the network renewed the spinoff weeks after the series finale had aired. Viewers were particularly intrigued by Michelle Blake’s story, which followed the paramedic trying to locate her missing sister. While the plan was for Tyler toreturn as Blake in season 2, the first season fortunately provided a proper ending for the character, as the paramedic was able to find her sibling.
Along withLone Star, Fox alsorenewed 9-1-1for a fourth season earlier this year. Because the original series is still going strong after multiple seasons without its original lead, there’s a good chanceLone Starwill find similar success without Tyler. This news comes to us fromTVLine.
