After debuting in January 2018, 9-1-1 quickly became a rising star for Fox thanks to its big disasters, notable cast members, and emotional storylines. Then, after six successful seasons, Fox canceled the show. Despite being Fox’s top-rated scripted series with adults 18–49, the show was also one of Fox’s most expensive shows, with episodes costing a rumored $9-$10 million each after cast salaries, impressive stunts, and elaborate visual effects. Lucky for the cast and crew, 9-1-1 was developed when Fox and then-20th Century Fox were part of the same company. When Disney acquired some of Fox’s assets, it included the TV studio, now called 20th TV, meaning that 9-1-1 had a parent company that was happy to take the show to its new network, ABC.
Though 9-1-1’s first season on ABC was delayed due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, the show’s seventh season premiere set streaming records and saw a multi-platform viewership of 13.5 million, making it the highest-rated telecast in over a year. When 9-1-1 reached its 100th episode just a few weeks later — Season 7, Episode 4, “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered” — the show opened with a crossover with The Bachelor and ended with a kiss between two characters that nearly broke the internet. Longtime fans were trading tweets and tiktoks with people who had never before seen 9-1-1 but suddenly wanted to know all about the “gay firefighter show,” and star Oliver Stark seemed to be everywhere, sharing that his character’s coming out storyline was “a gift” and pushing back against blatant homophobia that came his way. Season 7’s viewership numbers remained steady and even helped increase viewership for the 20th season of Grey’s Anatomy and the 7th — and final — season of Station 19. As the show gets ready to enter its 8th season, fans are preparing for a three-episode opening disaster that promises to create lots of buzz and the continuation of storylines from Season 7 that could change everything for their favorite characters.
Big Names and Powerful Performances Lead the Cast
Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, 9-1-1 stars Angela Bassett as Athena Grant, an LAPD field sergeant, and Peter Krause as Bobby Nash, captain of the LAFD’s Station 118 and Athena’s husband since the end of Season 2. Nash’s team includes firefighters Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) and Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) and firefighter-paramedics Howard “Chimney” Han (Kenneth Choi) and Henrietta “Hen” Wilson (Aisha Hinds). Hen is married to Karen Wilson (Tracie Thoms), who is a rocket scientist, and Chimney is married to Maddie Buckley Han (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who is Buck’s older sister and one of the main dispatchers at the 9-1-1 dispatch center.
The cast of 9-1-1 has over 175 award nominations between them, and their wins include 16 Image Awards, 3 Saturn Awards, 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards, 2 Golden Globes, and multiple Critics Choice Awards (TV, Documentary, and Super Awards), along with 1 Primetime Emmy and 1 Oscar — both of which belong to Angela Bassett.
Throughout the show’s seven seasons, audiences have seen notable performances from each of the main characters, including many episodes that bring viewers to tears. From the plane crash that triggered a relapse for Bobby, a recovering alcoholic and addict, in Season 1, Episode 4, “Worst Day Ever,” to the attack on Athena in Season 3, Episode 17, “Powerless,” and Buck’s near-death experience after being hit by lightning in Season 6, Episode 10, “In a Flash” and Episode 11, “In Another Life,” 9-1-1 has made it pretty clear that it is not afraid to put its characters in dire straights or bizarre situations, which gives the award-winning cast plenty of opportunities to show off both their dramatic and comedic skills.
