9-1-1 Season 8 Showrunner Tim Minear Previews a Change in Eddie and Buck’s Relationship. Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) and Evan Buckley (Oliver Stark) have both gone through significant changes heading into 9-1-1 Season 8. Eddie is living his life on his own, while Buck is coming out as bisexual and starting a relationship with Tommy Kinard, played by Lou Ferrigno Jr. Both of those storylines will have an impact when the ABC drama returns in a few weeks.
Ahead of the 9-1-1 Season 8 premiere on Thursday, September 26 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, Minear spoke with Entertainment Weekly about what to expect from the upcoming episodes. When it comes to the duo played by Stark and Guzman, the co-creator and showrunner mentioned that Buck and Tommy are still together, but Eddie may feel a little left out. Minear, who created the show with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, revealed that Buck won’t have as much free time. Read the full quote below: But we see that [Buck & Tommy] are more comfortable with each other. We’d definitely call them a couple. Obviously they’re comfortable hanging out with Eddie, but when you’re with someone, that takes up a portion of your time, so that leaves Eddie a little bit out there. Well, not out there, but Buck doesn’t have as much free time as he used to, let’s put it that way.
While Minear didn’t go into detail about exactly what the upcoming episodes mean for Eddie Diaz, it seems like a reversal of fortune based on the ending of 9-1-1 season 7. Eddie’s son Christopher (Gavin McHugh) has moved in with his grandparents, in part because he’s angry at Eddie for lying to him about a woman who looks almost exactly like Christopher’s deceased mother. Eddie is on his own, single for the first time in a long time, and he may not be handling it well.
The Eddie and Buck pairing has been a favorite of many 9-1-1 viewers since Eddie appeared in season 2. Of course, in the early episodes of 9-1-1 season 7, Buck was less than happy with Eddie becoming friends with Tommy and was jealous. Tommy and Buck’s sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) both assumed that Buck was jealous because he had unresolved feelings for Eddie, but the subject has not been brought up since.
The Eddie and Buck pairing has been a favorite of many 9-1-1 viewers since Eddie appeared in season 2, only intensifying as the two friends grew closer in later episodes and Buck became a second father figure to Chris. There’s a chance to revisit that possibility, as Eddie feels left out and isolated. But if the hit show finally starts to address its regular audience demands, it probably won’t spoil the surprise ahead of time.
The rest of 118 has a busy schedule. Bobby (Peter Krause), after being forced into retirement, takes a job as a technical consultant on an action drama called Hotshots. But in addition to Bobby’s playful and potentially surreal storyline, Athena (Angela Bassett) will also be faced with finding a new home after losing her previous home in a fire in the 9-1-1 season 7 finale. As the pair navigate these changes, Athena will also encounter a familiar face from her past.
Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen (Traci Thoms) are still reeling from the disruption to their family, as Councilwoman Olivia Ortiz (Verónica Falcón) has made an enemy of Hen after losing her son in an emergency that Hen was assigned to. She blames Hen for what happened, even though Ortiz’s son refuses Hen’s help. In any case, Ortiz is running for mayor, and things are about to get more complicated.
