9-1-1: Lone Star is gearing up for its fifth (and possibly) final season, and some big changes are coming. On top of the first responder drama already losing one cast member with Sierra McClain exiting, Rafael Silva’s Carlos Reyes is making a bit of a career change. Now, Lone Star's boss Rashad Raisani has opened up about why this move actually makes sense for the character.
A new teaser for the season that's going to premiere on the 2024 TV schedule previewed that Carlos will no longer be a patrol officer. That means that instead of making detective as some fans had hoped, he will be following in his late father’s footsteps by becoming a Texas Ranger. Despite Carlos initially being against it, and even getting into arguments with his dad about it, executive producer and co-showrunner Raisani told EW why they put him on the path to be a Ranger:
Even as far back as season 1, we talked a lot about putting Carlos on the path of being an APD detective. But then, as his storyline of his relationship with his father started to develop and we started to explore the complicated history of the Texas Rangers... In a weird way it really reflected Carlos' own history with his dad: That his dad was someone he'd seen as oppressive and not accepting, and then as their relationship progressed that changed. We thought what Gabriel represented is the transformation of where we hope the Texas Rangers are going — and who epitomizes that better than Carlos.
It was surprising seeing Carlos in the Texas Ranger uniform at first, especially since Lone Star had been building up to him being a detective. However, his dad’s death hit him hard, and he nearly went off the rails trying to figure out who killed him in the deadly Season 4 finale. Being a Ranger not only could help him solve that mystery, but it could also bring him closer to his dad. Their relationship was rocky at times, but it did get better over the seasons.
Now, Carlos can follow his dad’s legacy, and it's going to be emotional, as Raisani shared:
Carlos has this giant mystery in his life of who killed his dad, and that's not just going to be a procedural story. It's an emotional one.
Even though Carlos will be a Texas Ranger, that doesn’t necessarily mean being a detective has left his mind. It’s always possible he could switch to that later down the line, but for now, being a Ranger may just be exactly what he needs to do.
As with anything, it’s not going to be easy. Gabriel Reyes left a legacy, and it will be hard for Carlos to step up to the plate. He’s on a career path now that he never thought he’d go down, and he’s still grieving his father. Not to mention, he’s also a newlywed, and with anything involving him and T.K., there will surely be some obstacles.
Fans will see how being a Texas Ranger works out for Carlos when the long-awaited fifth season of 9-1-1: Lone Star returns to Fox on Monday, September 23 at 8 p.m. ET. It’s hard to predict how it will all go down, but he’s gone through quite a lot in recent seasons between getting kidnapped and his dad dying. So, hopefully, Season 5 will offer a little bit of a bright spot for him with this career change, even if there are some obstacles in the way.
