9-1-1: Lone Star uses first-responder thrills as cover for an exploration of masculine fragility and definition-defying heroism

The Hollywood Reporter

Fox's 9-1-1 spinoff is still a fun, thrilling escape, says Daniel Fienberg. But he adds: "I was most amused by the way it uses (Rob) Lowe, an actor who has become iconic both for his handsomeness and his awareness of his own handsomeness. That's taken to an extreme that's comical and hardly unintentional. In the pilot, over a minute of screen time is dedicated to (Lowe's) Owen explaining his elaborate skincare regimen to (Brian Michael Smith's) Paul. In the second episode, his complicated, medically assisted approach to his hair gets nearly as much discussion. You practically expect episodic segments to be followed by commercials for Rob Lowe-endorsed beauty products. Heck, this is a character who survived 9/11 and his most upsetting nightmares involve potentially losing his hair. Yet here he is pondering how he can look at himself in the mirror — and he looks at himself in the mirror a lot — and do what he does if his looks are in jeopardy. It's a subtext that's troweled on thick, but if you look at it as commentary and not just Lowe's ego run amok, it's interesting. Every character in 9-1-1: Lone Star is asking themselves something similar, if not identical. If Owen is the '50s-style heroic ideal and he's doubting himself, how do others carve out their place when people don't think they fit because of their religion, gender identity, sexuality or personal demons? It's a conundrum wrapped up in Austin itself, this ultra-blue dot in ultra-red Texas."

ALSO:

• It's odd that Rob Lowe's plotline about choosing between his hair or his life is played for sympathy
• Lowe responds to being roasted online for wearing an "NFL" hat to the NFC Championship Game: "I didn't expect my hat to be the most interesting part of this game!"