Who Is Judd Ryder's Long-Lost Son Wyatt on Fox's Drama '9-1-1: Lone Star'?
Apr. 4 2023, Updated 10:12 p.m. ET
Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4, specifically Episodes 5 and 11.
Over the course of three seasons of 9-1-1: Lone Star, Judd (Jim Parrack) and Grace Ryder (Sierra McClain) have had an up-and-down journey, to say the least. It was amazing to see them share such a beautiful moment when Grace gave birth to their daughter Charlie, but little did they know that a wrench would be thrown into their lives right as things were finally looking up.
The joyous celebration of Grace and Judd's expanding family unfortunately was short-lived. In the episode immediately following, a teenager named Wyatt (Jackson Pace) arrives at Station 126 to meet Judd face to face. Why? Because Wyatt claims that Judd is his biological father.
Grace, who just so happens to be visiting Judd at work that day with their newborn baby, listens in on Wyatt's explanation. Throughout the episode, the couple has some skepticism about the boy and thinks maybe this is some kind of scam. By the time the episode reaches the end, however, they've come to terms with the fact that Wyatt is indeed Judd's son — and that their worlds are changed forever.
Who is Judd's son Wyatt on '9-1-1: Lone Star'?
In 2005, Judd and Wyatt's mother, Marlene Harris (played by Robyn Lively), met at the rodeo where she was a barrel racer. The pair ended up having a one-night stand and never even exchanged names — meaning when Marlene found out she was pregnant, she couldn't even contact Judd if she wanted to. Now, nearly two decades into the future, Wyatt was able to find his biological father with the assistance of a DNA ancestry website.
In an interview with Variety, Jim Parrack discusses his character learning that he's suddenly a father of two. Jim shares that Judd was utterly stunned, saying the moment was difficult for him to process because he was scared of losing the family he already created.
During the episode, Jim's onscreen wife Grace invites Marlene to have dinner at their house, which Jim calls a "really gracious" deed given that Judd is clearly still reeling from the news.
"She removes all the scandal from it, and everything is just like, 'Look, this is life now. How do you guys want to go about it?'" Jim explains. "It was a really, really well-structured story. And what comes next after [Judd has] gotten the green light from [his] family is that [he] can have a relationship with this kid without destroying what [the family has]."
It sounds like Wyatt isn't going anywhere, and Judd plans to bond with his new son. He even turned to Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) for some fatherly advice. Though our gut tells us that it's going to take some time before these two have a solid father-son connection, it will certainly be interesting to see how their relationship grows as the season unfolds.
Wyatt shared some seriously jaw-dropping information with his dad.
On April 3, 2023, 9-1-1: Lone Star fans were given a massive shock. In Episode 11, Wyatt had dinner with the Ryders. He even brought along his girlfriend, LeAnna.
That was nothing out of the ordinary, but the news Wyatt had to share certainly was. He told the table that he would be dropping out of college to pursue a career in firefighting.
It only gets crazier. He also revealed that LeAnna is pregnant! It looks like he already has a plan too. They want to keep the baby and are even considering getting married.
This new life path has endless possibilities for Judd's role in Wyatt's life. After all, it means Judd will be a grandfather.
Here's why Judd's son on '9-1-1-: Lone Star' looks familiar.
Jackson Pace, Joe Ando-Hirsh, and Kelley Mack on 'The Walking Dead'
Audiences who have watched this storyline play out might have thought that the actor playing Judd's son looked familiar. That's because 23-year-old Jackson Pace has had roles on some very well-known shows.
Jackson played Gage for two seasons on the hit post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead and appeared in a reoccurring role as Luke in the Netflix comedy Grace & Frankie. He also portrayed Chris Brody, the son of Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), over three seasons on Showtime's thriller Homeland.
Catch Jackson on more episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star airing on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.
