9-1-1 season 8 episode 1, titled “Buzzkill,” aired on September 26 and featured the largest swarm of bees Los Angeles has ever seen. The first episode focused on how 118 operates after the notoriously ruthless Gerrard replaced Bobby as fire chief. All of the team members are dealing with their own crises, with Hen’s foster care license being suspended and Eddie’s son moving to Texas in the 9-1-1 season 7 finale. Ultimately, Buck is the one who clashes with Gerrard the most, refusing to give in to his unreasonable demands.
The final moments of the episode saw Gerrard verbally attack Buck just before the firefighter wrestled him to the ground and out of the way of a chainsaw blade. For the team, it seems like Buck is trying to save Gerrard’s life, but Oliver Stark teases that his character may not even know his own intentions. Stark shares that the accident will continue to haunt Buck throughout the season, unsure whether he was intentionally helping or harming the current team leader.
Screen Rant: Bee-nado has attracted a lot of attention to the series. Have you seen the reaction, and did you expect that storyline to explode to the extent it has?
Oliver Stark: I’ve seen mixed reactions to it. I see some people who are really excited about the absurdity of the whole thing, and then I see other people who are kind of skeptical or skeptical about it, and I’m like, “Hey, check it out. I guarantee you it’s fun.” [But] No, I don’t think so. Over the years, I’ve found that I’m often wrong if I make too many predictions about how things will be received, so I just avoid doing that in general.
But I personally think it’s great. I’m a big fan of it, and I always want the show to be larger than life, so the fact that we’re leaning into that aspect so much, I think that’s where 9-1-1 thrives, and I think that’s where we as a cast can thrive. I was really excited about it, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.
We see in the premiere that Buck, in particular, has been at odds with Gerrard ever since he took Bobby’s job. Can you tell us what Buck was thinking in that final scene when he, at the end, saves Gerrard’s life?
Oliver Stark: I don’t know how to answer that question, because I don’t think Buck knows for sure whether he was trying to save Gerrard’s life, whether he knew what he was doing, or whether he was reacting impulsively to the abuse he received in that scene. As we move forward, that’s actually going to be a little bit of a pivot point in Buck’s story, “Did I mean to save his life or was I trying to hurt him?”
And yes, the outcome is happy, but was it intentional? So, it’s hard to say what Buck was thinking because I don’t think he was sure about it. I like the aspect of Buck losing his cool. That’s my little secret theory—that he wasn’t trying to save his life, but he got lucky.
Buck’s never been one to give up, and given how much Bobby means to him and to 118, what can you tease about his efforts to get Bobby back this season?
Oliver Stark: We see in the rooftop scene that he’s always full of ideas about how to get things back to normal. His usual premise is, “This is my 118.” But I think after Gerrard’s crash at the end of the first episode, but then as we move into the emergency on the plane, there are bigger things to deal with than the immediate aftermath.
And Gerrard, obviously we saw quite a bit of blood, so he’s not necessarily going to be back to normal right away. As we move into the next two episodes, Buck is definitely going to try and get Bobby back into their lives. Bobby is such a big part of who Buck is as a firefighter that he’s going to need him for what’s going to happen in these next two episodes.
There’s a bit of a shift between season 7 and season 8, and Buck and Tommy were together during that time. Where would you say they are in terms of their relationship?
Oliver Stark: I think they’re still in the honeymoon phase. Everything is still being viewed through the rose-colored glasses of a new relationship. They definitely started this season in a good place. I don’t know exactly what we’re talking about in terms of the time jump, I don’t think it’s too much. So they’re still learning things about each other, which in itself will lead to some interesting stories as we move forward, as they learn more about each other. It’ll be interesting to see what those truths are as they learn a little more about who each other are.
