9-1-1 stars Aisha Hinds and Tracie Thoms love the life their characters, Hen and Karen, have built together — and now they’re ready to let loose and have a little fun.
“I mean, I just want a little, like, warmth, you know? I want to go to Disneyland,” Thoms, 49, told Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday, October 17, while discussing the eighth season of the ABC hit series. “Let’s just spend time with these kids where we just get to do normal family things. Not constantly fighting for the right to be together, you know what I mean? We’ve been through so much, trying to have this family. We’ve been through every step of this journey.”
Thoms and Hinds, 48, have played Karen and Hen, respectively, since the series began in 2018. The pair have faced immunity, infidelity, family drama, and a few dangerous exes. In many ways, the struggle has been relentless for the on-screen couple — and they’re both ready for brighter days.
“Every moment of trying to do IVF, trying to have a baby naturally and it [failed], it was hard, and we even had a little girl [Nia] that we had to support to go back to her mom, even though it was painful,” Thoms explains. “Every step of the way [was hard]. I just wanted them to be able to breathe and survive and be a loving family.”
It looks like Thoms might actually get her wish. In the latest episode of 9-1-1, which aired Thursday, Hen and Karen battle to regain their foster care licenses and custody of their adopted daughter, Mara (Askyler Bell), as Councilwoman Olivia Ortiz (Veronica Falcon)—who blames Hen for her son’s death—continues her plan to ruin their lives. While Veronica thought she had defeated the duo (and broken up Station 118 in the process), a last-minute twist exposed her true intentions and put Mara back in Hen and Karen’s care.
With Ortiz gone—and Gerrard (Brian Thompson) taking a job at Hotshots so Bobby can return to his rightful place as captain of 118—there may be a clear path for Hen and Karen. As for specifics on what they want it to look like, Thoms looked to the season 6 episode “Tomorrow,” which highlighted Hen and Karen’s love story before they had kids, as an example. The duo also had an issue to address with the famous karaoke scene in the season 7 bachelorette party episode.
“I feel like we were robbed of the karaoke moments that we could have had,” Thoms said with a laugh, recalling how the couple left the party early. “So I think that would be fun. I just love whenever Karen and Hen get to, like, let loose a little bit because it’s so rare for them to do that.”
When Us suggested a night of partying with Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) for a possible “Henren” storyline, Hinds and Thoms both agreed that they “would love” to see the trio out on the town together — especially if there was singing involved.
“I was backstage advocating for Traci to show off those belts on the show,” Hinds said, referring to Thoms’ famous singing voice. “It was a missed opportunity and it was not subtle. I was like, ‘Why isn’t Traci written to sing a song on this show?!’ I need that to happen now.”
For her part, Thoms joked that it would be fun to discover that Karen has “hidden talents” that audiences never knew about.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, wait, you’re a rocket scientist, and you can sing a little bit!’” she said, laughing. “I mean, I’m all for it. But, yeah, Aisha was completely unsubtle in advocating for me to sing on the show. She just screamed.”
Hen running for city council to replace Ortiz — and a highly anticipated “Karen Begins” episode — are also ideas that have been floated. “I love it. I love it. Let’s do it,” Hinds said before adding a polite call to action to host Tim Minear: “Can you hear us, Tim? Can you hear us?”
While the actresses are hopeful for better days ahead, Hinds told Us that there were many aspects of Hen’s scenes with Councilwoman Ortiz that felt satisfying, especially when she went toe-to-toe with Falcón, 58. “Veronica Falcón was definitely a formidable foe for us,” she said. “She’s an incredible actress. And when she came in, it was hard to hate her because she was a woman, but then the viciousness with which she acted and led the charge to punish us, and punish Mara for something that wasn’t entirely Hen’s fault in her son dying, [changed everything].”
“It was really hard to go in there and beg for her mercy and just see her not even able to reach a fraction of a human.
