‘9-1-1’ Boss Says He Ships Buck & Eddie, Compares Show to ‘Heated Rivalry’

Dan Clarendon January 10, 2026, 1:08 pm

Oliver Stark and Ryan Guzman in '9-1-1' — Chris Willard/Disney

What To Know

Showrunner Tim Minear openly supports the idea of a Buck and Eddie romance on ‘9-1-1,’ but emphasizes the show is primarily a procedural, not a romance drama.
Oliver Stark (Buck) acknowledges the chemistry and fan enthusiasm for the pairing, expressing openness to the storyline if it develops authentically.
Ryan Guzman (Eddie) values the genuine platonic bond between the characters, while understanding and respecting the fans’ interpretations and hopes.

It’s not just 9-1-1’s fans who want Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) and Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) to get together; it’s Tim Minear, the ABC show’s showrunner and co-creator, as well.

Minear revealed in a new interview with The Washington Post that he, too, ships #Buddie.

“It is a very difficult subject because I love the Buddie fans, and I am one of them,” he said.

Minear told the newspaper he’s not ruling out the possibility of a Buddie romance but explained he’s making a procedural TV show and not a romance-focused drama like Heated Rivalry, the gay-hockey-player romance burning up HBO Max.

“It’s different than Heated Rivalry, where that is the show — the show is about those two guys getting together. That’s not what this show is,” Minear says. “This will probably piss off people, but whatever, this is what I think. I think the possibility of [Buddie] is what’s exciting.”

Oliver Stark as Buck and Ryan Guzman as Eddie in '9-1-1' Season 7 Episode 6 "There Goes the Groom"

Chris Willard/Disney

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As for the actor behind Buck, Stark told Deadline in a new interview that he doesn’t know whether Buddie will ever come to fruition, and he cited Minear’s Washington Post comments.

“Tim Minear, who writes the show, said in an interview a few days ago, he’s actively a fan of the ship of Buddie, and he understands it and roots for it, and doesn’t not like the idea of it, which, I get it as well,” Stark said. “I’ve spoken about it in interviews. I say happily that I see the moments that other people see, and you see fan edits and there’s nice romantic music playing over the top of it or whatever it is, and you go, ‘Oh yeah, those do feel like charged moments.’ So yeah, I’m just happy to keep telling the story of these characters, and if that’s the way that, authentically, Tim decides the story goes, then I think that’s beautiful.”

Guzman, on the other hand, told the site in May that he thinks Buck and Eddie’s platonic relationship is “so genuine.”

“And I think Oliver’s character has said it multiple times — it’s like, why can’t we just be friends, brothers?” Guzman added. “So I think right now it stands as it is. But I completely understand where fans are gaining that from, and they’ve created their own lore.”

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