9-1-1 fans have had to say goodbye to a number of beloved cast members over the past eight seasons, but one recent departure felt like an especially personal attack, and the viewers want — nay, deserve — justice. I’m referring to Eddie Diaz…’s mustache, which became a social media sensation back in July 2024, a full two months before making its official on-air debut in the Season 8 premiere. There was just something about it. Something undeniable. Something poetic.
Unfortunately, as showrunner Tim Minear explained to me at the time, the mustache was also “a manifestation of something going on within Eddie.” And not in a fun, Village People kind of way. You see, after losing his son to Texas over the affair he had with his dead ex-wife’s look-alike (this show!), Eddie began Season 8 in a pretty dark place, and his new facial hair was deemed a “disguise” to hide from the joy he no longer felt he deserved. That’s why, after only six episodes, the mustache made a dramatic exit from Eddie’s face.
During my recent interview with Ryan Guzman about the second half of Season 8, he told me that Eddie is “going to gain a lot” in the coming weeks, so I followed up with a question that any sane person would ask: Is there a chance Eddie will ever “gain” his mustache back? He is, after all, going through another difficult emotional period now that he’s trying to build a new life with Christopher in Texas. “God, I wish,” Guzman replied. “I miss it.” He told me that he had been pitching a mustache for Eddie since he joined 9-1-1 back in Season 2. “I was lucky enough to get six episodes out of it,” he said. “If the fans want it back, and Tim listens to them, maybe I can hold on to it for a little longer.”
As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one way forward from here: the mustache needs to come back. Have you read the news lately? It’s bleak out there. We could all use a little more joy in our lives, and what’s more joyful than this reel of Peter Krause getting positively giddy over Guzman’s then-fresh facial hair? Just look at it: And is that really so much to ask? Abby was brought back for an episode, and she lives all the way in Arizona now. Eddie’s mustache grows from Guzman’s own face, and you don’t even have to pay it a day rate. He wants it, we want it, let’s just make it happen. We’ll consider it a make-good for all the 9-1-1: Lone Star crossovers we never got.
