True Contentment Must Come From Within For Ronen Rubinstein’s Character on 9-1-1: LONE STAR

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede What does happiness look like for T.K.? Ronen Rubinstein took a long pause, and let out a lengthy sigh, before finally saying, “that’s a hell of a question. Nobody has actually ever asked that before. It’s a simple question, but it’s not, especially for T.K.” Rubinstein plays T.K. Strand – the son of Rob Lowe’s character, Owen Strand – in 9-1-1: LONE STAR, which returns for its fourth season, Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. T.K. has experienced many ups and downs through the years, in large part due to his battle with addiction, and how that has impacted everyone around him. “I think we’ve seen glimpses of T.K.’s happiness, like the dream-sequence stuff he had with his mom, something as simple as making cookies with his mom,” Rubinstein said. “I think when he and his dad are good, that’s another massive source of happiness. And I think most importantly, there’s the relationship he has developed with Carlos (Rafael L. Silva). He made the biggest commitment when he proposed to Carlos. But T.K. obviously has thrown some wrenches into that relationship, too, because he’s one of those people that when things are too good, he self-implodes. Self-sabotage. Luckily, he has gotten past that.” T.K. has become adept at pleasing others, both personally and professionally. But it’s harder to find the path toward being truly happy with himself. “I mean, that’s why he has gone to drugs in the past,” Rubinstein said. “I think he is happy to be a paramedic, or a first responder, because I think genuinely helping people makes him happy. But there are many different layers to that. Right now, going into Season 4, he just lost his mother, and we will continue to see how that affects him. I think overall, he’s in a good place, but the loss of his mother is going to linger for a long time.” T.K. is the kind of character that viewers root for, but still worry about, because the darker side of his personality is always lingering beneath the surface. Many individuals and families can identify first-hand with such a circumstance, which is what makes T.K. so relatable to audiences. “It’s actually pretty brilliant, the way the character has been constructed,” Rubinstein said. “T.K. literally throws himself in harm’s way to save other people. What does that say about a person, you know? But I’m going to ask that question. I’m going to ask our showrunner and be like, ‘what actually has to happen for T.K. to be happy with himself?’ I’m going to call right now. Is T.K. actually happy? Have I been fooled this whole time?” As 9-1-1: LONE STAR returns, the team is called into action when a “derecho” – a series of fast-moving severe thunderstorms – wreaks havoc at a county fair. Meanwhile, Owen’s newfound passion for motorcycling puts him on a potentially dangerous path, while Tommy (Gina Torres) sees the potential for romance when she meets an attractive single father, but pursuing it could be more complicated than she thinks. As for T.K. and Carlos, their search for the perfect venue – or any venue – for their wedding leads to the prospect of an accelerated timeline, which in turn forces Carlos to share a secret from his past that he probably should have told T.K. about a long time ago. “One thing I always say is that I think people initially tuned in for the action and the rescues and the explosions, but they really stay for the characters and the stories,” Rubinstein said. “What makes the show so special is that they’re deeply layered characters with so much emotional trauma that I think everybody could relate to at least one of them – especially T.K. He has been through it all.” So T.K.’s quest for happiness continues. “We keep peeling back the layers, but what does the final layer look like?” Rubinstein said. “I don’t think we’ve seen it yet.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv