Why Sierra McClain's Grace Left 9-1-1 Lone Star in Season 5

A few months before the 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 premiere, it was announced that Sierra McClain would not reprise her role as Grace Ryder in the series' final episodes. McClain was part of the 9-1-1: Lone Star cast since its first season. So the news of her departure from the Fox procedural drama series was shocking, to say the least. McClain's character, Grace, also had many responsibilities and connections to other characters in 9-1-1: Lone Starwhich made his exit difficult to navigate.

Speculation about whether 9-1-1: Lone Star would end after Season 5 ran wild in the months leading up to its premiere. After 9-1-1Following the move from ABC to ABC, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before its spinoff was canceled (or potentially moved to a different network or streaming service). Unfortunately, Fox canceled 9-1-1: Lone Star a few weeks before the release of season 5, episode 1, and its cancellation could go hand in hand with McClain's departure from the show.

Sierra McClain Reportedly Quit 911 Lone Star Over Contract Negotiations

The cast of 911 Lone Star failed to renegotiate their contracts before Season 5

Deadline first reported that Sierra McClain was leaving 9-1-1: Lone Star before the premiere of season 5. The article (and many others) stated that actress Grace Ryder left because of "cast renegotiation drama." To put it into context, the cast of 9-1-1: Lone Star had been trying to renegotiate their contracts for salary increases since before the premiere of season 4. However, they were unsuccessful. During Season 5 contract discussions, 20th Television completely locked down the stars, indicating that 9-1-1: Lone Star would end after season 5. Then, McClain parted ways with the series, suggesting that his departure was related to the aforementioned drama.

At the time of writing this article, McClain has not commented on her 9-1-1: Lone Star exit. Therefore, the reasoning behind her departure from the Fox procedural drama has not been confirmed. Sources say contract renegotiations played an important role in the original process 9-1-1: Lone Star cast member leaving before Season 5, however.

How 911 Lone Star Season 5 Wrote Grace (and Why It's So Controversial)

Grace joined Mercy Ships

THE 9-1-1: Lone Star The Season 5 premiere's explanation for Grace's departure was disappointing to many. Fortunately, the writers didn't kill her off. Yet, the reason for Grace's departure was frustrating as it didn't fit her character.

Grace joined Mercy Ships, an international religious organization with non-governmental hospital ships. While Mercy Ships' goal of providing life-saving care and surgery to those in need is something McClain's character would be interested in, Grace leaving her husband and son in Texas for an unspecified period of time (especially when Judd was solving some problems) it didn't make sense. Hopefully, 9-1-1: Lone Star will fix Grace's controversial exit before the end.

Source: Deadline