Season 8 of 9-1-1 debuted with a stunning disaster episode that proved to be an iconic triumph for the series. A mix of horror, hyperbole, and a whole lot of bees, the season kicked off with a killer episode that saw the city of Los Angeles brought to its knees when a swarm of angry bees was released onto the streets. As emergency services (fire, dispatch, and police) once again tried to contain a combined disaster of epic proportions, the series proved that it was at its best when diving into the wild and unpredictable.
Starring Angela Bassett (Black Panther), Peter Krause (Parenthood), and Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Ghost Whisperer), 9-1-1 followed the lives of a group of first responders in Los Angeles. In the season premiere episode “Buzzkill,” a tractor-trailer carrying 22 million bees overturned on the freeway. And as 22 million killer stingers flood the streets, teams must work frantically to save the innocent, the guilty, and themselves from the unbridled fury of a swarm mind. For a series that excels at both action and drama, the quirky plots of episodes like A Million Killer Bees keep the series fresh and exciting.
9-1-1 is no stranger to disaster. In fact, over its eight seasons (so far), the series has frequently featured the harsh, real-life situations that emergency workers face and deal with in public. Series creator Ryan Murphy has previously admitted that some episodes are based on real-life emergency service calls. Fans of the show have seen these scenes play out throughout the series. From an episode featuring a baby stuck in a pipe (Season 1, “Pilot”) to a collapsing dance floor (Season 1, “Point of Origin”) and the story of a woman leaving a man in her windshield (Season 3, “Monsters”), the trauma of real-life disasters has energized the series with seriousness, drama, and action. This works well for fans of the series by providing compelling moments to keep viewers engaged.
9-1-1 has used this plot device of large-scale tragedy for several season premieres. There was the pirate and shipwreck at the beginning of the seventh season, which continued for three more episodes. In the Season 2 opener, an earthquake shakes Los Angeles, followed by a series of shockwaves that cause a series of emergencies to reverberate throughout the city. 9-1-1 has used this three-part premiere multiple times, and it’s an effective strategy for keeping viewers hooked for weeks. The harrowing season eight premiere also spans three episodes. Like previous seasons, the opening introduced a relatively limited, more localized danger before building up to a full-blown pandemic.
Among 9-1-1’s other disasters, Bee-nado is downright absurd. But far from being a detriment, the show’s dive into seemingly outlandish plotlines lends it a welcome levity before its more extreme moments. The shocking introduction of a swarm of bees flying toward a plane and potentially causing a collision is almost cartoonish in the best way. The concept is both serious, with life-or-death stakes on a massive scale, and utterly absurd.
Throughout the episode, the writers added to the stakes, with the local danger building up to a foreboding threat of disaster, thus keeping the tension going throughout the episode and then letting it hang in the air with the intrigue of the next episode. The plot provided viewers with an enjoyable thriller with quirky moments without losing the high-stakes nature of the episodes. It was an effective strategy, and fans across the internet expressed their delight with the episode.
The pace of the plot, while also advancing the individual storylines of the characters, was highlighted as a notable plus. The first two episodes of the premiere, “Buzzkill” and “When the Boeing Gets Tough,” have already aired, and fans will have to wait until next week to see how the 22 million-strong army of bees will be dealt with. But until then, the season is off to a great start.
9-1-1 was created by Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy and Tim Minear. The three worked together on the FX series American Horror Story, while Falchuk and Murphy have previously worked together on the Fox series Glee and Scream Queens. Other stars of 9-1-1 include Ryan Guzman (The Boy Next Door), Alisha Hinds (Assault on Precinct 13), Oliver Stark (Into the Badlands) and Kenneth Choi (Sons of Anarchy). New episodes of 9-1-1 air Thursdays on ABC and are available to stream on Hulu the following day.
