‘9-1-1’s Kenneth Choi on His Hopes for a Maddie & Chimney Wedding

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 4, Episode 4 of 9-1-1, “9-1-1, What’s Your Grievance?”]

Sprinting away when secrets are involved apparently runs in the family: Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and his brother Albert (John Harlan Kim) do just that in the February 8 episode of 9-1-1.

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Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) told her boyfriend, Chimney, what her family has been keeping from her brother Buck (Oliver Stark), and it’s been hard for him to stay quiet about it. But when he wants to share it with Albert, his brother takes off. So Chimney ponders spilling to the entire firehouse and then, to stop himself, he sprint off, too — for a trip down the fire pole. But Buck does find out at one thing by episode’s end (as do viewers): He and Maddie had a brother.

Choi talks to TV Insider about how the pressure’s not off his character just yet, as well as what’s next for Maddie and Chimney’s future.

Chimney and Albert running off because of the secret was a nice bit of levity.

Kenneth Choi: This show has a wonderful mix of high-intensity action sequences, tear-jerking dramatic moments, and light humor.

As an actor, it’s a dream to play with all these different colors especially in one episode. Chimney is straddling that precarious line of honoring his friendship with Buck and honoring his promise to Maddie — absolute conflict of interests!

As an actor, what’s great about that basketball scene as well as the firehouse scene is I have to play it completely straight with all of Chimney’s anxieties and frustrations ready to burst, but the end result is comedic. So even though there’s that levity for the audience, Chimney is struggling.

Jack Zeman / Fox

Has the weight lifted now that Buck is finding out the truth?

I hope so. There could be repercussions as well. The 9-1-1 writers enjoy throwing as much conflict [as possible] in our characters’ paths.

Chimney and Maddie have been happy — which they deserve — so what’s next? A wedding?

I love Maddie and Chimney as a couple. It’s been a relief to see them in happier times. I’m hoping things go well with the baby, I’m hoping they have a wonderful wedding surrounded by the people they love, I hope they live happily ever after. But this is the world of 9-1-1. Adversity is always a part of their professional lives, and it seems to find a way of creeping into their personal lives.

Will Chimney embrace fatherhood?

At times it seems Chimney has a knack for getting in his own way. He’s a bit neurotic. He always has the best intentions because he has a pure, kind heart, but will best intentions be enough? I’m sure being a parent will present its own challenges. But I secretly hope that he turns a corner and comes into his own in his new roles as father and possibly husband.

Fox

Since they’ve been quarantining separately and trading Buckley siblings, we haven’t gotten that much of Chimney and Albert. Will that change?

You find out a lot about the characters when pressure is applied to them. I’m curious to see what pressures they throw at these two brothers. Personally, I resonated with so much of Chimney’s struggle with his father. Exploring that tumultuous relationship was challenging yet incredibly rewarding as an actor and cathartic as a human being. I would love to see more come out of that situation and how it relates to Chimney and Albert.

One of the show’s best relationships is Chimney and Hen’s, but they’re both dealing with a lot at home and away from the 118. How will that affect them?

The writers are great at considering all the given circumstances of each character. Hen is a firefighter/paramedic. She has a family at home that just added a new member, and on top of all that, she is now in medical school. Her free time is limited, her plate is completely full, and Chimney, being the dutiful friend that he is, recognizes that, and that is the reason you see Chimney reaching out to other colleagues.

But that scene outside the ambulance [in Episode 4] is a perfect depiction of Hen and Chimney’s relationship. After Hen realizes who Chimney’s secret is about, he feels awful for keeping that secret from his best friend. And Hen knows that if she pries even just a little bit, he will fold like a cheap suit. It sounds as if she is telling him that she doesn’t want that burden of also knowing the secret, but in reality, she is supporting him by allowing him to keep his promise. That scene is about friendship and camaraderie and what we do for our friends to allow them to be the best version of themselves. I love their relationship!

9-1-1, Mondays, 8/7c, Fox