‘9-1-1’: Oliver Stark Talks Buck’s Struggle With Gerrard, Teases Episode That ‘Helps Move Him Along as a Character’

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the 9-1-1 Season 8 premiere “Buzzkill.”]

One thing is clear in the 9-1-1 Season 8 premiere: Buck (Oliver Stark) really wants—and needs—Bobby (Peter Krause) back as the 118’s captain.

To be fair, no one likes that Gerrard (Brian Thompson) is once again in charge; he’s still just as horrible as when he led in Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Chimney’s (Kenneth Choi) early days at the firehouse. But the last we see the 118ers in the premiere, Buck’s saving Gerrard’s life from a potentially deadly accident with a power saw and construction workers.

Below, Stark discusses the Season 8 premiere, Buck’s conflict with Gerrard, and more. (Plus, executive producer Tim Minear answers our burning questions here, and get scoop on Buck and Tommy’s relationship and the possibility of Buck and Eddie from Stark here.)

Bee-nado has started, and you’re the one who gets to say it.

Oliver Stark: Yeah, I’m the one that has to say it, you mean. I appreciate your framing of “gets” rather than “has” to. No, it’s a fun line, and I think it’s very classic 9-1-1. We like to lean into the ridiculous. So yeah, I remember when I first read that line, I was like, yes, actually, I think it’s really funny.

Disney/Christopher Willard

So to say Buck’s not having an easy time with Gerard as captain is an understatement. What is it exactly about Gerrard that Buck can’t just not react like the others? I mean, it’s understandable with the things that this guy says.

Yeah, I think going all the way back to Season 1, we saw that Buck is a character that certainly has the potential to struggle with authority or authoritative figures, and over time, he was able to find a healthy rhythm with Bobby being captain and obviously that lovely relationship that they were able to form. But if you take Bobby out of that equation, I think Buck starts to revert back into his old self who, as I say, has an issue with toeing the line and authoritative figures. So yeah, I think Bobby being taken out of the firehouse really almost regresses Buck. And then Gerrard being who he is only amplifies that and kind of moves it forward even more so. So yeah, Buck is definitely struggling with the change of regime.

But then Buck saves Gerrard’s life. What’s that dynamic like moving forward? Because anyone else, I think that this guy would be grateful, but this is Gerrard we’re talking about.

He’s going to have a little bit of time recovering. I think we see in the episode it’s quite the hit that he takes and there’s a lot of blood. Buck is going to struggle at first with, “Was I trying to save him or was I reacting?” And so there’s a fun little internal conflict for Buck coming up. I don’t think Gerrard will react necessarily the way you would expect a normal person to.

Now we have this bee storyline colliding with Athena’s (Angela Bassett) plane at the end of the premiere. What’s coming up for the 118 in these next two bee episodes?

We are going to attach little bee wings to ourselves and fly up to the plane. [Laughs] No, it’s fun because the bees are in many ways a setup for a much bigger and more epic emergency, and I really love the bees in the first episode. I like it when the show isn’t afraid to be a bit ridiculous. We are making an entertainment television show, and so I love leaning into that. And then it allows us to spiral into something really epic and dramatic. I think this run of episodes is—obviously the cruise ship was great last year—maybe the best opening few episodes that we’ve had in a good few seasons. So I’m really, really excited for it. And I know we say this every year, but I actually mean it this year: I think it’s got bigger and better.

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'9-1-1' Season 8: Oliver Stark on Buck and Eddie Possibility, Tommy Relationship

But then there’s the heartbreaking storyline of Eddie (Ryan Guzman) and Christopher (Gavin McHugh) and Buck watching that video call. How is Buck helping Eddie there? Buck also has his own relationship with Christopher.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think you see in that scene where Eddie is on FaceTime to Christopher and then to his mom that Buck is also affected by it. Buck is super close and Christopher is an important figure in Buck’s life. So yeah, he’s also missing him, and that’s definitely having an impact on him. And obviously, Buck and Eddie are huge rocks for each other and they’re able to lean on each other, and I think you will see that in the coming episodes. It’s a balance, though, because at the same time, Eddie is, as we’ve seen, somewhat of a character who internalizes things, so he’s not necessarily open with how much he’s struggling with it, but there’s definitely a scene later in the season that I really like, and it’s very, very minimal, but it really, I think, shows the true depth of their friendship.

Are we going to see Buck and Christopher communicating, though?

Not as of yet, but I can’t speak to what the future holds.

Do we have any really good Buck and Maddie scenes coming up? 

Yeah, it takes a little while to get us together actually. We just shot a lovely scene for, I think, Episode 6. So it takes a little while before you get us together, but it’s a really fun, and I actually think quite meaningful scene. And it’s not just Buck and Maddie, there’s a third character involved, but I think it’s very classic Buck Maddie at their sibling best.

Who’s the third character?

It’s at her workplace, so Josh [Bryan Safi] is involved in the conversation, and it’s actually a really, really great scene for him in particular.

Disney/Christopher Willard

What else is coming up for Buck?

He’s going to continue to struggle with the change in leadership. We have these big, epic episodes coming up. And then one of my favorite episodes, which we’re actually shooting at the moment because we sometimes shoot out of order, is Episode 5. And I talk about liking when the show leans a little bit into the ridiculous, and I really get to do that in Episode 5. It’s one of these great episodes where—I think one of the things that 9-1-1 thrives in doing is an episode where it’s funny in some parts and moving and others, and there’s a really great Buck story where it’s kind of ludicrous, but at the same time really moving and I think really helps move him along as a character. So yeah, Episode 5 is a big Buck episode for me that I’m really looking forward to.

9-1-1, Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC