9-1-1: Lone Star's Sierra McClain Breaks Down Grace's New Relationship With Her Father

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from Tuesday's episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star. Read at your own risk!]

For Sierra McClain, 9-1-1: Lone Star has always felt like a family affair. But that phrase took on a new meaning earlier this year, when her real-life sisters, Lauryn and China Anne, were tapped to play the siblings of her fan-favorite character, Grace Ryder.

"In our top-of-the-season conversation with other producers, [showrunner Tim Minear and I] were talking a little bit about Grace and what's upcoming for Season 4, and the sisters came up," McClain told TV Guide. "So we had follow-up conversations, and we were like, 'Okay, so how do we feel about [Lauryn and China Anne playing Grace's] sisters? Do we want to do cousins instead so it makes more sense why we've never seen them?' But, ultimately, he was like, 'No, let's do sisters. That feels really nice.'"

In this week's episode of the Fox procedural drama, Grace and Judd (Jim Parrack) invite Grace's parents, Benjamin (William Allen Young) and Denice (Barbara Eve Harris), over for a roast dinner. But having learned of her father's infidelity in the "Difficult Conversations" episode of the second season, Grace struggles to confront Benjamin over his past actions while keeping his affair a secret from her mother. Although she initially resists her parents' offer to babysit Charlie, Grace eventually acquiesces, leading to another tense conversation with her father some days later. "I do want you here, Dad," Grace tells Benjamin privately. "Because when you're here, you're not out there getting in trouble."

But when Benjamin suffers a heart attack later that day, Grace and her sisters, Lisa (China Anne) and Ashley (Lauryn), must come together in his hour of need. Faced with the possibility that her father might never wake up again, Grace, consumed with guilt for putting him under stress, is forced to reconcile the deep love she has for him with the hurtful mistakes that he's made in the past.

In a recent video call from Atlanta, McClain sat down to discuss the casting of her sisters (and that long-awaited musical moment in the hospital), the evolution of Grace and Judd's relationship, and the challenges that lie ahead in the final episodes of the fourth season.

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What were your sisters' reactions to the offer to play Grace's sisters? Did you have to play it cool for a little while until you knew it was definitely going to happen, or did you immediately present the idea to them yourself?

Sierra McClain: [Laughs.] Because we are so close, we talk about so much. But this was one thing where I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna tell them what I want to do," because of course, you never know how stuff like this is gonna pan out. So I did, and then I had a conversation with Tim, and I went back to them and they were like, "Wait, are you serious?" [Laughs.] I was like, "No, like, I'm actually serious." So I don't think it was real for any of us until we were staring at each other in hair and makeup and were on camera. It was like, "Wow, this is really happening."

This episode wraps up a loose end dating back to the second season. Why do you think Grace originally decided against telling her mother about her father's infidelity, and how would you say she has handled having this piece of information ruminating in the back of her mind?

McClain: That's such a good question. To be honest, I'm not sure why she didn't tell her. I had to try to put myself in the shoes of Grace and just say, "If it was me, why wouldn't I?" In this particular scenario, I am a lot like Grace. I've spent a lot of my life very afraid to talk about how I felt about something, especially when my feelings were hurt. I just naturally shut down, and I didn't feel equipped to be able to talk about it. I think you can see the detriment that it caused her by allowing this to fester in her. It sat with her for two years, and [Grace's parents] haven't seen the baby. Not to judge her or myself, 'cause we've all been in that position, but you can see that it's not always better to hold it in, even if you have good intentions.

How did you want to show the progression of Grace's feelings about her father's infidelity?

McClain: To me, what felt most natural was for her to still be holding on so desperately to this resentment, this anger and this quiet aggression that she really had towards her dad, which you see in the living room when they're all talking about the baby and [Grace] is throwing jabs. And then it progresses. She has a conversation with her husband, and she's still holding on to it. I definitely wanted that wall to be like iron, when it came to her not being willing to release whatever she had to make way for the conversation.

Why do you think Grace struggles to forgive her father? Does she hold him to a different standard, or is she more worried about what her mother thinks of his affair?

McClain: It could be a bunch of things, but how I feel is that sometimes, things just hurt worse when they're closer to you. You can easily look at somebody else's situation, and you can be like, "Oh, you can give 'em the benefit of the doubt, and you can forgive 'em." We've seen Grace do it with Judd many times. And then when it comes to her own family, she's still struggling as much as she is. But I think that it also speaks to how much she loves her family in general, because they really have shaped who she is. I can speak to this firsthand because I have a very close-knit family, and sometimes the things that we do to each other hurt way worse than whatever comes from outside of the house, because we love each other so much and we care so much.

How has motherhood opened Grace to the possibility of forgiveness?

McClain: I think it was definitely a tool, but she needed some other things in order to really get there. Because, as you see, she's sitting there holding her child [but] still holding this against her father. So she wasn't able to really make the correlation between mistakes that she has made versus mistakes her father has made. She made a choice to release it and let it go, and then that cleared the way for her to be able to actually see what was there: "I've been sitting here all this time holding this against my father, and I haven't thought twice about the mistakes that I've made with Charlie. Somehow, I've justified forgiving myself and understanding that concept when it comes to my own daughter, but not when it comes to my dad."

At one point in the episode, Grace gives herself permission to forgive not only her father but also herself, and she decides to sing to him after delivering a heartfelt monologue. Did you have any input in the song that you were going to sing? And what do you think makes that song the right one for this particular moment?

McClain: These are so many good questions! I'm always going to opt for whatever's the most honest. I don't really care what it sounds like, as long as you do it in a certain way and you have a lot of love in there. Tim [Minear] chose "Smile" because of a personal experience of his. We talked about a lot of different options, but ultimately, I felt like that was right. There was actually a Zoom with me, Tim, and both of my sisters. We were all throwing stuff back and forth, and we landed there and, at the same time, were like, "Yep, that's it."

What was it like to see your own sisters walk in during that scene and then end up singing together while holding hands?

McClain: I'm not even gonna try to be eloquent about it; I just don't have the words. [Laughs.] It was a lot. You feel like you're doing what you have been used to doing for four years, and then your two sisters walk in. You're in character because they're playing your character's sisters, but I obviously have years and years of my own experiences with these two, and they know me better than anybody else does. They can look at you, and regardless of whatever the scene is calling for, they know what it is that they're actually looking at and vice versa. It makes for something incredibly spiritual and special, and it meant a lot to me.

Did you all sing it live, or did you pre-record the version that we hear in the show?

McClain: We pre-recorded it; we went to the studio. We have takes where we were singing it live, because that's just what we do, but to make it easier on them to edit and stuff like that, the director was like, "Let's use the pre-recorded version."

Having the three of you sing together begs the question: When can we expect new music from all of you?

McClain: We don't just want to do it because it's been a while. We've overhauled our whole studio, and we've gotten new stuff. And it's been very important to us to make sure that once we get that sound out, we know for a fact, regardless of how well it does, that that's our sound and we feel good about it. So that's what's been taking us so long, along with the fact that everybody's working and separated. But they're downstairs in the studio now, so we'll never stop [making music].

This is the first time you've appeared onscreen with your sisters in over a decade. What were some of the biggest differences that you noticed working with them now compared to when you were kids, and what were some things that you feel have stayed consistent throughout the years when it comes to the way you act together?

McClain: When you're young, you don't really know what it is that you're doing. You just know that you're with some people that you love and you're doing something that's super fun, and there's a table full of snacks off the set. [Laughs.] And that's really what it was for us back then. And now, here we are growing into adults, and with all the things that we've been through together as sisters, as a family. All of that life experience comes to a head in situations like these.

You can look at each other, and you can't just see what's in the scene. Obviously, you're looking at that person, and you're remembering how far they've come and how much they've grown in their personal life, which then affects your performances. So, as artists and as sisters, we've taken those journeys alongside each other, and I look at them and I see my little sisters and the women that I know them to be. So you don't separate the two. It all just works together to create something that, hopefully, means something.

Now that they've entered the Lone Star universe, I'd have to imagine that you're in Tim's ear every once in a while, going, "When are we going to bring Grace's sisters back?" We learn they're working in Nashville and constantly on the road, but we need to know more about them!

McClain: I know! Shoot, I would love that. And you know what? If Tim complains, I'm gonna tell him that you planted the idea in my head. [Laughs.] So every few episodes, I'm gonna call him [and ask], because I'm really curious too now.

One of the cool things about having a situation like this is that you don't just get the real-life relationship between me, Lauryn, and China. You get the real-life relationship between Lauryn and China, or Lauryn, China and Jim, because we're a close cast and we know each other's significant others and siblings. So if you brought any of them on, you would get the real relationship between us and them. John [Clarence Stewart] just guest-starred in our last episode, and that's Natacha [Karam]'s real boyfriend, and we actually spend time with him. So it'd be cool to bring these people closer to the crew and get to see their real life dynamics translate into the character dynamics.

In an interview a couple of weeks ago, Jim Parrack told me, "Sierra will roll her eyes at this, but only because she knows it's true… They don't put up with their TV mom, but man, they love their TV daddy!" Do you have anything you'd like to say in response to that about working with the twins who play Charlie?

McClain: I will say that only one person fake-pushed them out in the middle of a snowstorm with no pain medicine. [Laughs.] No, listen, those twins are some of the most dynamic kids I've ever worked with. They're so naturally expressive, charismatic, and funny. But they love them some Jim, I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because when he holds 'em, they have a wider view than with me. [Laughs.] But I asked their mom, "Do they do this at home with their dad?" She said, "Absolutely. They take to their dad very much." So I'm like, "Okay, well, maybe that's what it is. Maybe it's not me. I won't take it so personal."

How do you think Grace really felt about Judd's son Wyatt's latest bit of life-changing news?

McClain: I'm not sure if this is the right way to feel about it or not, but it's naturally how I feel, and I think Grace feels this too, which is, "We are all a family." Judd and Grace are married, so anything that one goes through, the other one is obviously going to be right there for it. But also, at the same time, I feel like this is a journey more for Judd than anything. Being a father to Charlie is a completely different beast in and of itself in comparison to being a father to Wyatt. I'm sure, as we continue to watch the series, that's gonna take him on two different journeys.

So it's one of those things where it's my instinct [as Grace], every time the storyline comes up, to be right there with him. But at the same time, I feel like this is not something that I should insert myself in. I see all the different ways that this is going to change him. I see the ways that it has changed him. We are still two individuals in a relationship, and we have to recognize that there are some things in life that are necessary for us as [our own] person, not just for us as a couple. And I feel that way about this story when it comes to Judd, so that's how I approach it every time.

What can you tease about what's to come in the final episodes of the season?

McClain: Grace finally weasels her way out of the call center. [Laughs.] She makes her way from behind the desk and gets in there a little bit, and you'll see more of Grace and Carlos [Rafael L. Silva], whom I love. I'm obviously biased because me and Raf are so close, but that's another dynamic that you get to see translate from the people to the actual characters. The personal relationships are my favorite because you get to see the real-life dynamic — the love, the rapport, the experience of those two people in the characters. So you'll get to see them getting down and getting their hands dirty a little bit.

You'll see Grace dealing with some personal stuff and Judd dealing with some personal things, and they will be left with decisions that need to be made that'll be tough ones. Obviously, they love each other and that'll get 'em through anything, just like everything else. But it's Lone Star's typical signature: We're gonna take you through the wringer. [Laughs.]

9-1-1: Lone Star airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Fox. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Fox Now or Hulu.