Note: This story contains spoilers from “9-1-1” Season 7, Episode 2.
“9-1-1” star Peter Krause thought Bobby and Athena’s latest near-death experience should have been their last.
The first responder drama kept the stakes high on Thursday’s episode, the second of a three-part premiere event paying homage to the 1972 ABC disaster thriller “The Poseidon Adventure,” as Bobby (Krause) and Athena (Angela Bassett) attempted to save their honeymoon cruise ship from a hijacking, an explosion and later a Category 5 hurricane. The action-packed hour reached an emotional climax when both characters mistakenly locked themselves in a room that was quickly filling up with water. Fearing they would drown before help arrived, the couple professed their love for each other and awaited their fate — only to be saved at the last second by cruise ship director Julian (Rick Cosnett).
“As an audience member, you almost hope they die together,” Krause told TheWrap in a recent interview. “I was filming it and thinking, ‘Let’s just Romeo and Juliet this thing right now.’ I know the show’s gotta go on, but we’re never going to be able to top this.”
Despite the dire circumstances, Krause celebrated how the premiere event gave him the opportunity to work closely with Bassett for an extended run of filming, as their characters tend to face different emergencies in typical “9-1-1” episodes with Bobby leading the firefighters of the 118 and Athena busy as a patrol sergeant for the LAPD.
During filming of the pivotal scene, Krause said production used heated water (“so it wasn’t too bad”) and he and Bassett were able to play off each other and add elements to the scene “that weren’t necessarily scripted” that helped bring authentic tragedy to the episode.
But the couple is far from safe after surviving that life-threatening moment. The hour ended with a crazy cliffhanger when a giant wave hit the cruise ship, causing it to flip — leaving Bobby, Athena and the remaining members of the crew and passengers hanging on for dear life as the casino turned upside down. Krause teased even more action in next week’s conclusion to the cruise ship disaster, promising that “some people” won’t make it out alive this time.
“There were some hard filming days, but the forethought that (creator and showrunner) Tim Minear put into all of this in order to make it all come together is pretty astounding,” Krause said.
The actor credited Minear’s full-time return to “9-1-1” as the start of a big “turning point” that the show is experiencing at the start of its seventh season. The writer had taken a step back to create and run the Rob Lowe-led spin-off series “9-1-1: Lone Star,” but returned to lead the flagship series through its move to ABC (“Lone Star” is expected to return for its strike-delayed fifth season this fall on Fox).
Reflecting on the show’s longevity, Krause noted that the end of Season 7 will make Bassett the longest-running scene partner of his career — with 106 episodes beating out the 103 episodes he had with Monica Potter on the NBC drama, “Parenthood.”
But will he keep the streak going beyond Season 7?
“It depends on the physical demands of the role,” Krause said. “I don’t think my body can hold out for another seven seasons, but I have a few more in me.”
“9-1-1” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Episodes are available to stream the day after premiere on Hulu.
