Supernatural‘s Richard Speight Jr. is going from archangel to reverend.
TV Insider has learned exclusively that Speight Jr. is guest starring in 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s midseason premiere, “All Who Wander,” on January 20. We also have a first-look photo, which you can check out above, of him in character.
Speight Jr. plays Reverend Phil, who leads the faith-based sobriety group Judd (Jim Parrack) has been attending the past month along with Owen’s (Rob Lowe) support. However, both Owen and the Reverend suspect Judd has been lying about his sobriety – and it may take an actual miracle to set him back on his path.
It was in the midseason finale in December that Owen realized that Judd has been drinking to cope with his wife Grace’s (Sierra McClain, who did not return this season) absence; she’s volunteering with Mercy Ships. As a result, Owen changed the plans he’d been putting in place for his future: He was going to take a job in New York and have Judd take over as the 126’s captain. Instead, he insisted on taking Judd to a meeting. Now it’s time to see how that’s going.
As co-showrunner Rashad Raisani pointed out to TV Insider, there have been hints at this storyline for Judd going back to the season premiere. “Owen shows up in the middle of the day, and Judd’s like, ‘Hey, you want to drink?’ And every scene we played at the house, there was always a beer out. This is something that’s been going on all year,” he detailed. “I was very adamant. I was like, ‘We don’t usually do that on Lone Star, where we’re threading things in there that come out two or three episodes later, but I just felt really strongly that this was something that we needed to tell the audience.’”
Raisani also shared that Episode 10, the midseason premiere, “has my favorite teaser of the series,” which will speak to how receptive Judd is to getting the help he needs. “We’re going to see the power of addiction and the things that it can make good people do in Episode 10. It’s just beginning. It’s not over.”
Also in “All Who Wander,” Judd literally walks straight into the line of fire when an armory catches on fire, sending bullets flying everywhere. Marjan (Natacha Karam) introduces her boyfriend Joe (guest star John Clarence Stewart) to her visiting parents, Waleed (Michael Benyaer) and Nasreen (Anne Nahabedian), but their dinner doesn’t go as smoothly as she hoped.
What do you think of Richard Speight Jr.’s casting? Let us know in the comments section below.
9-1-1: Lone Star, Midseason Return, Monday, January 20, 8/7c, Fox
If you or someone you know has addiction issues, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration‘s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.