'911: Lone Star' Season 2: Why did Liv Tyler abandon her role as paramedic Michelle Blake and leave the show?
Liv Tyler's Michelle Blake was a major part of the '911' spinoff series, '911: Lone Star'. Tyler played a paramedic Emergency Medical Services captain on the show. She was an integral part of the show, and her search for her missing sister Iris had many fans invested. So what made her drop out of the show's second season before her contract was up?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Liv Tyler exited the show over concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Tyler terminated her multi-year contract with FOX for her appearance on the show out of safety concerns. The actress, who lives in London with her family, used to commute from Britain to Los Angeles in the United States, where '911: Lone Star' is filmed, and she apparently decided that there was too much risk involved in the commute for her to commit to the show's second season filming.
Apparently, there are no hard feelings with regard to this decision. The show's co-creator and showrunner, Tim Minear, said that the door is always open to Liv Tyler returning to the series. In a public statement, Minear said, "What a thrill it was having a movie star of Liv Tyler’s stature to help us launch the first season of 911: Lone Star. 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 with Connie Britton on our mothership, we also feel like there are more stories to be told. The door here will always be open for a return."
As such, Tyler's character of Michelle Blake won't be replaced by a new actor in the series. Instead, the character herself will leave the show for now, to welcome an all-new character to the series who will be played by 'Firefly' star Gina Torres. Torres will play another paramedic captain, one who is reentering the workplace after her family is impacted by financial issues stemming from the pandemic.
'911: Lone Star' will return for its second season on January 18 at 9 PM ET, on FOX.