9-1-1: Lone Star is one of many shows ending in 2025, and the first responder drama is going big for the final episodes. While it wasn’t known until after filming had wrapped that the series was canceled, Lone Star took a page out of its setting’s book by going big or going home. On top of the “end of days vibes” with a meteor heading right towards Austin, Lone Star has been really honing in on the personal stories and challenges too, like Judd’s reaction to Grace leaving to go on a mission trip. Now, Jim Parrack has recently discussed bringing real-world experiences to his character’s storyline involving alcoholism.
Since the beginning of the show, Grace and Judd were a fan-favorite couple and it seemed like nothing would get in the way of the dispatcher and firefighter. That is until Grace actress Sierra McClain exited ahead of Season 5 following failed negotiations. Her departure impacted the final season so writers had to get creative. That meant showcasing how Judd is really doing without the love of his life which has led to him overworking and drinking. Parrack told Variety that he didn’t want it to be all at once when it came to Judd’s drinking problem and relapse, noting that it wasn’t how it happened in the real world:
Alcoholism doesn’t develop, nor is it resolved, overnight. Midway through the season, [9-1-1: Lone Star showrunner] Rashad [Raisani] was saying, ‘This is a direction we might go.’ And I said, ‘Then let’s start layering in what we can now. Doesn’t have to be something written in the script, but if it’s a group scene, put me over in the corner by myself, or kind of isolated or drinking or whatever the case may be,’ so that it didn’t just come out of nowhere at all, even if we had a whole season to resolve it. That’s not exactly the way alcoholism works.
In the winter premiere, “All Who Wander,” fans got to see how serious Judd’s alcoholism had gotten. He was in group with Owen, even sharing, and he seemed to be doing well as he was going on almost a month sober. However, it was revealed that Grace was ignoring his calls and texts, which pushed him to drink. It showed viewers that he really wasn’t doing all that well without his partner, and even though he was back at the firehouse doing what he loved after retiring early, it just wasn’t enough.
Additionally, one of the reasons why Parrack wanted Judd’s alcoholism storyline to be as realistic as possible is because he’s been there. The True Blood alum opened up about being in Judd’s position in the past, and while one might think that it would be hard for him to do that kind of storyline, he was excited about it:
I’m an alcoholic, I’m a sober alcoholic. I got sober when I was 22 years and two days old, and it took some doing to get there, and it took some doing to get out of it. So, I was excited to get to add something I knew something about, and the writers were as receptive and generous as they could be. It is still network television. There is still a limit on how gritty things can get. So within the world of the kind of show we were making, my concern was that it be as realistic as possible.
Like with any storyline that involves realistic and real-world experiences, you still have to dance delicately around it. Sometimes it can be done incredibly accurately or quite the opposite. However, it sounds like both Jim Parrack and the writers took great care of his storyline and wanted to be as authentic as possible.
With only two episodes to go, it’s hard to predict how this arc will continue and what Judd will do. However, his recovery and sobriety are continuing, and I'm hopeful that that will continue.
The final episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star air on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, with the series finale premiering on February 3.
