“As we're going to ABC, we've been very cognizant about thinking, well, maybe there are going to be some ABC viewers who aren't familiar with the show,” 9-1-1 co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear shared during a TCA set visit for last year’s number 1 broadcast drama, which moves from FOX to ABC for its 7th season. While the show’s devoted fanbase will no doubt change channels to keep tuning in, the move also creates an opportunity to bring in new fans, and this season is structured as an easy entry point for first-time viewers. “We're not taking for granted that everybody's going to know who these characters are. So, I've been careful to make sure that it's in the scenes.”
(Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup for 20th Television)
“It feels a lot the same so far,” star and executive producer Angela Bassett revealed about production on the show’s 7th season, which will include 9-1-1’s milestone 100th episode. “We're just a month in, and we're still in the same walls, the same set, the same lot… A lot of it feels familiar, and that part is good. So between the two, we're excited about season 7.”
“My first series was with Carol Burnett,” recalled star and executive producer Peter Krause when asked about being on a show that has made it to 100 episodes in an era where few shows get full season orders to reach this point. And one of the ways 9-1-1 is consumed is through out-of-context TikTok clip. “Things get chopped up into confetti. People watch the highlights on the internet. So I think it's pretty cool that we're going to hit 100 and keep going past that. It is rare.”
Angela Bassett and Peter Krause aren’t the only screen legends with lengthy careers who have found a home on 9-1-1. “The hope is to get to work for a long time, and then you hope that people remember the stuff that you've done,” Jennifer Love Hewitt explained about her longevity, starting with Kids Incorporated, Party of Five, and Ghost Whisperer before taking on the role of Maddie Kendall. “I'm going to turn 45 in the next couple of weeks, and on my 45th birthday, I will turn 35 as an actor, and it's really exciting. It's just really fun that I still get to do something that I love so much.”
“We're going to get friggin' married,” exclaimed Kenneth Choi, who plays Maddies’ fiancé Howie “Chimney” Han. But longtime fans of the show know that nothing is ever easy for Chimney. “I felt like they were torturing me for some unknown reason, and I'm still trying to find out why, and it's going to keep continuing,” the actor joked about how many scripts he’s read where he thought it was the end for his role. “Every time they do this, I think I'm getting killed off.”
“Coming into Season 1, I did not have any of the kind of cachet that the rest of the people up here have,” recalled Oliver Stark, who plays Evan “Buck” Buckley, about unnecessarily being intimidated by the star power of his cast mates. “They were just consummate professionals from the get-go. It was really lovely.” The British-born actor also revealed that he was on the verge of giving up his acting dreams when the role came his way, sharing the poignant alternative he considered. “I was running out of money, so I may have had to have gone back to England. I was on an O-1 visa, which is like a performing visa. That was coming to an end. I used my last little bit of money to apply for my green card. And once I had a green card, a firefighter was a possible career choice for me. And then this came along.”
“I get messages, particularly from black women, who are either paramedics or firefighters, and they are incredibly grateful that there is a representation of them in this realm,” shared Aisha Hinds, who plays Henrietta “Hen” Wilson, about feedback she’s received from fans of the show. “They're wonderful. And I try to glean as much from them as I can, and what their experiences are, how they separate the experience. One season, there was actually a woman who was flying into LA for something completely different, and she came to set to spend some time with us. One of our ADs was gracious enough to put her in the scene as an extra for that day. She loved that experience so much, and went back into her field and still serves and still stays in touch. There's an exchange of gratitude.”
With 6 seasons in the can and the 7th about to begin, the set visit allowed Ryan Guzman to reflect on his own growth over the course of the series. “I met [Gavin McHugh] before I even had kids,” Ryan shared about his on-screen role as Eddie Diaz, father of Christopher Diaz, played by Gavin. “To see his journey has been incredible… Working with him on this season, and seeing how tall he is now, it's insane. I've just become this joyous, proud, on-screen dad. And his vocabulary has changed. You know, he's becoming more of like a teenager, a cool teenager, so, of course, he's got this new slang and everything… [He’s] prepping me for my kids. But he is one of the brightest, most shining individuals that walks in a room He's that kind of person, and that's never changed.”
But change is in store for the characters of 9-1-1, whether you’ve been following along for every event up to now, or are just tuning in for the first time with the Season 7 premiere on its new network, ABC, starting Thursday, March 14th, at 8/7c. All previous seasons are available to stream on Hulu, which will also be the streaming home of new episodes the day after they air.