In 2018, FOX began airing 9-1-1, a syndicated television show created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear. Although FOX eventually canceled the show due to budget issues, 9-1-1 was fortunate enough to be created under an economic model that meant the show was owned by 20th Television, allowing ABC to take over production. Season 7 of 9-1-1 premiered on ABC in March 2024, and the show immediately reached viewership numbers not seen in years. Season 8, which aired on September 26, reached nearly 10 million viewers after seven days of viewing across multiple platforms, and the show’s viewership numbers have remained steady since.
Even though 9-1-1 is an ensemble show, Angela Bassett, who plays police sergeant Athena Grant-Nash, and Peter Krause, who plays fire captain Bobby Nash, still top the list. It’s the stories of Athena and Bobby — initially separate but later intertwined — that have driven much of the show’s direction, and nothing makes that clearer than the series of events that have unfolded for both Bobby and Athena in Season 7 and so far in Season 8. Bobby, in particular, has spent much of 9-1-1 battling some pretty serious demons, but if the first four episodes of Season 8 are any indication, he may finally be putting some of those demons behind him.
In 2014, while living in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his family, Bobby attempted to hide his drug and alcohol addiction, in part by keeping an empty apartment in their building where he could drink and use drugs alone. After putting his children, Brook and Robert, Jr., to bed, Bobby told his wife, Marcy, that he was going to go for a walk but instead went to the empty apartment, where he woke up a few hours later and, in his haste to get home, left a space heater on. Marcy was furious when she discovered he was high and told him that while she would eventually forgive him, she needed him to sleep somewhere else that night. Confused, he left his keys behind and slept on the roof, which is where he was when sirens woke him up. The fire that broke out in that empty apartment eventually killed 148 people, including Marcy, Robert, Jr., and Brook.
Although the Saint Paul Fire Department found Bobby not responsible for the fire — if any of the millions of code violations had been fixed before the space heater set fire to the sleeping bag, the fire would not have been as devastating — it didn’t matter to him. He took responsibility for it and tried to drink himself to death before the chief told him that he should consider living his punishment and do something with the rest of his life. Bobby sat down at his desk, sobered up, and then made a deal with God. He would save one life for every life lost in the fire, he wrote down in a little black book, and then he could be reunited with his family when he died. After six months of sobriety, Bobby asked to return to work. The fire chief didn’t think his crew was ready to serve with him, so Bobby asked for a transfer. About six months later, Bobby started working for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Like many procedural shows focused on firefighters, 9-1-1 has made it very clear that 118 is a family, but they didn’t start out that way. In Season 1, Episode 1, “Pilot,” Bobby made it clear to Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) that they weren’t a family, but that began to change. After a relapse in Season 1, Episode 4, “Worst Day Ever,” which required Bobby to get help, Bobby admitted to Henrietta “Hen” Wilson (Aisha Hinds) in Season 1, Episode 5, “Point of Origin” that he had promised himself he would never get close to anyone again so he wouldn’t be hurt if he lost them, but 118 made it impossible to keep that promise. Hen convinced Bobby to open the door and let them in, which was just the beginning. In Season 1, Episode 8, “Karma’s a Bitch,” Howard “Chimney” Han (Kenneth Choi) convinces Bobby to donate blood, which is how they learn that Bobby is one of two people whose blood can save the lives of children with a rare disease. When Chimney realizes that Bobby isn’t taking the news well, he thinks it’s because Bobby is afraid of needles, but it’s really because it’s ruining his plans. Chimney is the first person Bobby tells—other than his pastor—that he plans to commit suicide after saving 148 lives, and saying it out loud is a huge step in his healing process. Chimney takes Bobby to the hospital to meet one of the families whose children were saved by Bobby’s blood and then tells him, “You will see your own children again. I believe that. But right now, Asha and thousands of other children like her – they are your children too. It is your blood in their veins. I think you should throw that book away or buy yourself a copy.”
