'911: Lone Star' Season 2 Episode 1 Spoilers: Who is Tommy Vega and what brings her to the Austin team?
Season 2 of '911: Lone Star' is about to return to TV, and there have been a few major shake-ups. Most significantly, one of the show's major characters, Michelle Blake (Liv Tyler), won't be returning for the season due to Liv Tyler's coronavirus concerns connected to her London commute. Though she will be missed, the void she leaves behind will be filled by a completely new character, Tommy Vega (Gina Torres), whose introduction to the show brings the series face to face with the effects of the Covid pandemic.
Tommy Vega is an emergency medical captain whose family has been hit hard by the economic crisis brought about by the pandemic. Vega's husband's restaurant business took a sharp downward turn during the lockdown, and as a result, Tommy Vega has to return to her job as paramedic captain. She soon becomes the family's main breadwinner and she sorely needs money to take care of her twin eight-year-old boys.
Family appears to be a major factor in the first episode, as Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) and his son TK (Ronen Rubinstein) meet Owen's ex-wife, TK's mother Gwyneth (Lisa Edelstein). There's little time for a proper family reunion, however, as not long after Gwyneth comes back to the family does Owen receive an update on his cancer situation. The synopsis isn't clear as to whether the news is good or bad, but either way, it's significant.
The official synopsis for this episode, entitled 'Back in the Saddle', reads "The 126 crew responds to a military tank on the loose in downtown Austin and a human pile-up at the roller derby. Meanwhile, new paramedic captain, Tommy Vega, joins the team and Owen is reunited with his ex-wife and TK's mother, Gwyneth (guest star Lisa Edelstein), and receives an update on his cancer in the all-new 'Back in the Saddle' season premiere episode of 9-1-1: LONE STAR". You can watch a trailer for the show's second season below, which introduces the show's new character, Tommy Vega, and Gina Torres talking about joining the show:
The episode of '911: Lone Star' airs January 18 at 9 pm ET, on FOX.