‘9-1-1’ Franchise’s Most Shocking Cast Exits of All Time: Peter Krause, Connie Britton and Liv Tyler

Peter Krause was a shocking cast exit on 9-1-1 — but he wasn’t the only one.

The 9-1-1 universe originated with a show about the professional and personal lives of Los Angeles first responders. It premiered on Fox in 2018 and starred Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Aisha Hinds, Oliver Stark, Connie Britton and Kenneth Choi. Fox canceled the series in 2023, which allowed ABC to swoop in and renew the show for a seventh season.

9-1-1 has continued to find success on its new network, but first spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star hasn’t had the same luck. Lone Star followed a New York firefighter (played by Rob Lowe) who relocated to Texas while trying to balance his job alongside his personal issues. Liv Tyler, Ronen Rubinstein, Rafael L. Silva, Sierra McClain, Jim Parrack, Natacha Karam, Brian Michael Smith, Julian Works and Gina Torres made up the rest of the cast.

By 2023, 9-1-1: Lone Star was renewed for its fifth and final season after remaining on Fox. Cocreators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, meanwhile, shifted their focus to a new location that would introduce another spinoff — in Nashville.

As the show universe kept growing, there were various changes that took place. From Britton to Tyler and now to Krause, the 9-1-1 fans have mourned many surprising cast exits:

Liv Tyler

Despite joining 9-1-1: Lone Star as Michelle for its first season, Tyler exited amid the COVID-19 pandemic because she could not travel to the U.S. while season 2 filmed.

Sierra McClain

Grace was written out when McClain exited ahead of the season 5 premiere following contract renegotiation issues. 9-1-1: Lone Star revealed in the show’s final season that Grace had left her family and Texas, to volunteer with faith-based organization Mercy Ships.

Connie Britton

Britton was cast as dispatcher Abby Clark when 9-1-1 premiered but she departed after one season. According to creator Murphy, Britton only signed a one-year contract for the show and her character was replaced with Jennifer Love Hewitt, who was cast as Stark’s sister, Maddie Buckley. (Britton did return in season 3 for a cameo.)

Charles Vega

Tommy’s husband died during the second season of 9-1-1: Lone Star from a brain aneurysm.

Peter Krause

The ABC drama killed off Krause’s character in April 2025 during the two-part “Contagion” event where Bobby was secretly infected with a rare and fatal virus.

Rockmond Dunbar

After bringing Bassett’s on screen ex-husband, Michael, to life on 9-1-1, Dunbar exited the series in 2021 over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Benito Martinez

Shortly before Carlos’ wedding to T.K., (Ronen Rubinstein) his dad, Gabriel (Martinez), was killed in the season 4 finale. It was ultimately revealed that Chief Bridges (Alan Autry) was to blame for Gabriel’s death.

Lisa Edelstein

Season 3 of 9-1-1: Lone Star threw Us for a loop when Owen’s wife, Gwyneth, was killed off when a delivery man accidentally struck her with a bike in the streets of New York.