9-1-1: Lone Star 's Sierra McClain on Grace's emotional 'Smile' performance with her sisters
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So when are we getting the 9-1-1 musical episode?
Just one day after Jennifer Love Hewitt's double serenade on 9-1-1, Sierra McClain and her sisters treated 9-1-1: Lone Star viewers to a tearful rendition of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile."
"The girls and I, we went to the studio and recorded — that's kind of our home, our haven," McClain says of working with her sisters Lauryn and China on the song, which their characters sing over their father (played by William Allen Young) in the hospital. "We grew up in music and in the studio with our parents, because they met doing music."
Following season 6, episode 13, "Open," McClain spoke with EW about how the sister act came to be, that gut-wrenching 9-1-1 call scene, and what's next for Grace and Judd.
Scott Everett White/FOX Sierra McClain and William Allen Young on '9-1-1: Lone Star'
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Grace starts off this episode still holding a hard grudge against her father after she found out he cheated on her mom in season 2.
SIERRA McCLAIN: This has been sitting with Grace for two years, festering. That felt like a very relatable story to me. I spent a lot of my life very closed off and afraid to communicate, especially when something hurt me. I would just shut down when it came to conflict. And I can say firsthand that doing that does not yield great results. It yields exactly what it yielded for Grace.
When I found out that Grace had been keeping the baby, [Charlie,] from them, I had a very, very, very hard time with that. But I think that it's so real, and we all have been or know somebody in that position. I think inserting Charlie into the equation just really opened up a whole new aspect of the dysfunction that came from Grace not saying anything all this time.
And then Judd sort of makes an executive call to let the grandparents babysit, which doesn't sit well with Grace...
There were parts of it that were tough because they were true and they were honest, but they were hard. Ultimately, I loved his position because that's the position that somebody like Judd is supposed to take. When she doesn't feel equipped emotionally to be able to make the right decisions or handle something the way that she's supposed to, she should be able to rely on her husband. I love that they gave us that moment, it's just another part of Grace and Joe's relationship that we got to see.
What was it like filming the 9-1-1 phone call scene in which Grace finds out her dad has had a heart attack?
Actually didn't even read whatever the [script] pages were supposed to be for that day. In that moment, all of Grace's training flies out the window. All she can think about is that last conversation that she had, and then the last thing that she says to him, and it just takes her over the edge. And so I wanted that all to feel very real.
Scott Everett White/FOX Lauryn McClain, China McClain, Jim Parrack, Barbara Harris, and Sierra McClain on '9-1-1: Lone Star'
How was working with your sisters?
It was a very emotional experience recording "Smile" in the studio. And then getting to film it was a completely different experience, because we all had different instincts and different reactions to being in that situation, which made it more realistic. It was just special. This is not something my sisters and I have gotten to do in a long time with each other. And to have a situation like this with a character that I've been with for so long.... No matter what I do after this, I think this will always be a staple moment for me in my life and in my career.
What can you tease is coming up for Grace?
We're approaching the end of the season, but there's a lot packed in there. Grace is going to get up from her desk and out in the field a little bit. I can't wait for people to see that. I've been waiting for Grace to really be a part of the action for years. And you'll see Grace and Judd in some situations that'll be tough. Of course, they love each other and it's all going to work out, but getting there sometimes is the difficult part.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
9-1-1: Lone Star airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
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