Lone Star’ boss on Carlos and Ranger Campbell’s relationship

The 9-1-1: Lone Star team initially envisioned a different path for Rafael Silva’s Carlos Reyes.

At the start of the show, the Austin police officer was meant to head down the detective path, says co-showrunner Rashad Raisani. But then, as the character’s relationship with his father, Gabriel (Benito Martinez), evolved, it became clear that he was destined to follow in his dad’s footsteps as a Texas Ranger — even if that decision is a little controversial.

Being from Texas, Raisani is well aware the Texas Rangers have a “complicated history” filled with racism and violence. “We’ve always approached the Rangers acknowledging they do not have a spotless record,” the executive producer tells Entertainment Weekly. “And, in many ways, I wanted to distance the show from the Rangers at first. But then I also see now the value that it has in the modern era, what it’s evolved into.”

“In a weird way, it really reflected how Carlos felt about his dad: that his dad was this guy who he had seen as this force of not being accepted [because he is gay]. And then, as their relationship progressed, he ended up having this very beautiful relationship with his father. And so we thought what Gabriel Reyes represented was the transformation, we hope, of where the Texas Rangers are going — which is to become a much more egalitarian, social justice-conscious organization. And who epitomizes that better than Carlos?”

That plan fully solidified after the writers decided to kill off Gabriel in the season 4 finale. “Once we had that,” says Raisani, “we definitely started thinking Carlos’s end game is Texas Ranger.”

The season 5 premiere introduced Carlos’ new gig, with the greenhorn Ranger helping solve a series of bank heists, begrudgingly working alongside Ranger Campbell (Parker Young).

Raisani says they knew Ranger Campbell “was going to be a major character from day one” but he was originally envisioned “as more of a Woody Harrelson, True Detective” vibe, “a little bit more old-timer, seen it all, done that. A little rye Texas guy who kind of busts Carlos’ balls.” But then Raisani thought of Young, who had starred on a pilot he’d worked on years ago. “I just thought he was wonderful,” says Raisani. “He was actually going to do a pilot, or he was going to do some other show. But then, for whatever reason, he suddenly became available to us at the last minute, and so I begged him to come and join us for this arc.”

“He had this sort of Glen Powell energy of being funny and wry and Texan,” Raisani says of Young. “And I also thought his chemistry would be really interesting to watch with Raphael — because just like their characters, Parker is a little older than Raphael, he’s more experienced. Raphael is a younger actor, and they’ve infused that into the way they play. They start as rivals, sort of big brother and little brother. They’re fighting for daddy’s love, right? That’s what the first episode is about. Big brother doesn’t like that little brother has an in with the boss because they were friends with Gabriel.”

But they won’t stay rivals, Raisani promises. “I won’t get into everything you’re going to see because it goes to lots of interesting places,” he says. “They don’t like each other at first, but you see them form this beautiful partnership as we go forward. I promised Parker that we would go lots of places with his arc, and I feel like he would say we honored that promise.”

Raisani also teases that Carlos will continue to investigate his father’s murder as he continues to grow as a Ranger. “It goes deeper and darker in some later episodes, where [Rafael is] really carrying these stories like a leading man, with emotional complexity. The Rangers deal with … It’s not just 911, someone broke into my house. It’s drug trafficking and it’s counter-terrorism, it’s just a much darker world for him, and he does it beautifully.”

But he also takes work home with him to new husband TK (Ronen Rubinstein): “It affects their relationship, and TK helps him,” says Raisani. “I hope you’ll see that being a Ranger doesn’t just deepen his character, but it also enriches TK and allows TK to enrich him.”

9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox.