Why Kendra on ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ Looks So Familiar

Owen Strand’s latest romantic venture on 9-1-1: Lone Star, Kendra, looks pretty familiar, and there’s a good reason for it. The actress, Michaela McManus, has been in a heck of a lot of TV shows that some would consider pretty big, like You, One Tree Hill and The Vampire Diaries. So before she played a wealthy socialite, she had quite the extensive filmography.

Millennials will immediately recognize McManus as Lindsey Strauss, the editor fiancé of Chad Michael Murray’s Lucas Scott in Seasons 5 and 6 of The CW’s One Tree Hill. She wasn’t particularly liked by some of the characters, most notably Hilarie Burton Morgan’s Peyton Sawyer. Lindsey ended up leaving Lucas at the altar, knowing he was still in love with Peyton. After her turn as Lindsey, she made the jump to Law & Order: SVU to portray ADA Kimberly Greylek for Season 10 of the NBC legal drama.

Perhaps you know Michaela McManus from her other gig on The CW as Alpha werewolf Jules on The Vampire Diaries Season 2, who kidnaps Caroline to get to Tyler to help him adjust to his new life as a werewolf. After getting her heart ripped out by Klaus, she had some steady roles for the next several years. In 2017, she recurred on CBS’ military drama SEAL Team as the estranged wife of Jason Hayes. She, unfortunately, dies in the second season but reappears in Season 5 for a single episode.

In 2021, she was in three episodes of You Season 3 as Natalie Engler, and McManus’ most recent role was as Teleya/Lt. Janel Tyler on The Orville. She definitely has more than enough titles to recognize her from, and it just shows the range of acting she’s able to do. With her most recent role on 9-1-1: Lone Star, she isn’t stopping any time soon. 

Michaela McManus’ role on 9-1-1: Lone Star is about to get more interesting. Without getting too into it, Kendra’s life is changing, and Owen is going to be right in the middle of it. How that affects their relationship moving forward will be something to look forward to, and whether or not she will stick around, especially given the circumstance. However, with the roles that McManus has portrayed, this isn’t anything she can’t handle, and it’s going to be intriguing to see how she continues to play the part.