Jennifer Love Hewitt Dreamed Up ‘9-1-1’ & ‘The Bachelor’ Crossover
In one of the wackier crossovers in TV history, a crisis on the set of The Bachelor will set the stage for 9-1-1’s forthcoming 100th episode, “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered,” airing on Thursday, April 4. And the whole thing was 9-1-1 star Jennifer Love Hewitt’s idea.
Tim Minear, the co-creator and showrunner of 9-1-1, told Entertainment Weekly that Hewitt pitched him the idea after attending one of the Bachelor finales. (The actor attended the Golden Bachelor finale in November, along with Reese Witherspoon’s mom, Betty, and daughter, Ava.)
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“[Hewitt is] a huge fan of The Bachelor, and she said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if the 118 responded to a call at the Bachelor mansion?’” Minear added.
And so Minear reached out to ABC, and the network put him in touch with producers of the reality franchise.
“We just started talking about what the possibilities were,” Minear said. “The Bachelor people were unbelievably supportive and helpful. They volunteered to show us the ropes about how they make the show, and then when we shot it, we actually brought in the Bachelor crew to shoot the first part of that case, so that it really was The Bachelor. And then we go into 9-1-1 world when they have to call 9-1-1. So that’s how it came about. It just seemed like a great idea.”
A promo for Thursday’s episode teases the result. “A woman just glued herself to the driveway of the Bachelor mansion,” Bachelor host Jesse Palmer says as he calls Maddie, Hewitt’s 9-1-1 dispatcher character.
“Did you just say Bachelor Mansion?” an incredulous Maddie replies.
And it seems she’s not the only Bachelor fan. “Hey, Joey,” a starstruck Chimney (Kenneth Choi) says when he spots the latest Bachelor lead mid-rescue.
9-1-1, 100th Episode, Thursday, April 4, 8/7c, ABC
