The series finale of “9-1-1: Lone Star” will be “apocalyptic,” showrunner Rashad Raisani told TheWrap ahead of the Fox show’s final few episodes. In fact, he said it will be like “Chernobyl” meets “The Last of Us.”
“We wanted to go out with a gigantic bang,” Raisani teased. “Actually, multiple bangs, as a matter of fact.”
The fifth and final season opened with a cataclysmic train derailment that unleashed a toxic chemical cloud: The first responders miraculously survived that, as they have numerous other disasters, but Raisani said that the crew of the 126 — led by Captain Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) — probably won’t be so lucky as the “9-1-1” spinoff comes to a close.
In a wide-ranging interview, Raisani also gave an update about the location where the planned third “9-1-1” series will be set. He confirmed that Hawaii — where the network’s new hit “Rescue: HI-Surf” is based — is likely out. So are Seattle and Chicago.
“We wanted to find a city that also wasn’t so well known by other TV franchises. With Seattle, you’re looking at the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ universe, and with Chicago, you’ve got the Dick Wolf universe,” he explained. “So we did a lot of strategizing about a city that hopefully is exciting in concept, but not so well known by many other TV shows and franchises. I think that the veil will come off of that pretty soon.”
Here’s more of our talk with Raisani about the high stakes two-part series finale.
TheWrap: What can we expect from the series finale? Will it involve a big crisis like the season opener?
Rashad Raisani: It’s a gigantic, double crisis. It has an apocalyptic feel for our characters. “Chernobyl” meets “The Last of Us” is what we were aiming for.
That’s pretty apocalyptic.
It’s a double dose of shameless apocalypse and putting the characters to the absolute extremes. And to play with that, you know, these characters, they don’t often make it to the end, if you know what I mean. And to put them through a crisis that will show that, and then we’ll put them at the extreme limits. Some might not come back.
You’re going to kill off some characters?
I’ve got characters dealing with cancer. I’ve got characters dealing with an apocalypse like we’ve never done before. So we definitely… we will go all the way. That’s all I’ll say.
You wanted to go out with a bang.
A gigantic bang. Multiple bangs, as a matter of fact.
The winter finale of “9-1-1: Lone Star” airs Monday, Dec. 2. The two-part series finale will air Jan. 27 and Feb. 3, 2025 on Fox.
