‘9-1-1’: Relationships, Emergencies & More Burning Questions for Season 7 on ABC
9-1-1 doesn’t really do cliffhangers, and the latest finale was no different. Sure, there are some question marks, but everyone survived the overpass collapse (with injuries that we thought would be more serious than they were) and, thanks to a bit of a time jump, was back at work when “Pay It Forward” ended.
The good news is that wasn’t the end, though the first responder drama will be moving from Fox after six seasons over to ABC. (And with the writers’ strike, the network has leaned into unscripted programming for its fall schedule.) And we can’t help but wonder what that might mean for the show itself. Plus, there are the personal developments we saw in the montage at the end of the finale while Captain Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) led the 118 in a bit of meditation before the alarm rang for a call. Will that happiness continue into Season 7?
Scroll down to check out our burning questions for the 118’s future.
9-1-1, Season 7, TBA, ABC
Will the move to ABC change anything?
After six seasons, we know what to expect from 9-1-1: emergencies (the lead-up to which we see, with flashbacks occasionally used) and personal drama. Will the balance of that stay as it’s been for the past six seasons, or will we get more of one than we have?
Will Buck and Natalia last?
To say Buck (Oliver Stark) hasn’t had luck with love would be an understatement, but while Natalia (Annelise Cepero) did back off after multiple interruptions during their dates — related to his past love interests and the friends for whom he was a sperm donor — she did return just in time to help him deliver Kameron’s (Chelsea Kane) baby. They’re giving it a try, and he’s even asked her to help him pick out a new couch, which he’s connected to girlfriends in the past. “I think that says everything, that he’s certainly interested in making her a permanent fixture in his life and seeing where this relationship can go. It’s an exciting thing for him,” Stark told TV Insider.
Will Eddie find what he's looking for with Marisol?
Eddie (Ryan Guzman) spent the penultimate episode of Season 6 trying to make a meet-cute happen, hoping to recreate the magic he found with his late wife. Then he bumped into Marisol (Edy Ganem), whose brother the 118 had helped earlier in the season, at the hardware store, and she helped him find what he needed. But is she what he’s looking for? They did make plans for a date in the end-of-finale montage.
Will disaster strike at Maddie and Chimney's wedding?
It took a bit of time, but Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) got engaged and were planning their wedding (at home) by the end of the season. Considering the traumas they’ve both suffered — he was even impaled again in the collapse — we can’t help but think it’s impossible that their wedding will be drama-free. Let’s just hope whatever inevitably happens is not something that earns their home the previously false nickname of the Murder House.
What will be the big premiere emergency?
In the past, 9-1-1 has had a couple multiple episode disasters (the earthquake and tsunami) to kick off seasons. Might that happen again, especially as a way to welcome potential new viewers with the move to ABC to what the show can do? It sounds like Stark would be game. “I’d like some more big stunts. Those are the things that get me really interested and excited,” he told us. “I would love to start the season with something big and death-defying and maybe doesn’t quite go as planned and Buck can be injured for a little bit again. It’s my favorite thing to play. So yeah, plenty of pain and suffering.”
Will Season 7 address who would take over if Bobby ever retires?
After Bobby sent Chimney to the academy to teach recruits (and bring back Ravi, played by Anirudh Pisharody) in Season 6, the first responder who once said “never again” to stepping in as interim captain might be ready for that day. “I personally think he would be a great captain. His problem has always been that he has a lot of self-doubt. One of the pieces that we addressed is the death of his friend Kevin, [and with] his relationship with his father, I think that’s been a big piece of the puzzle as well,” Choi told us. “[Recently] he sort of found a semi-resolution with his father. So I think those two big puzzle pieces being discovered, he can now move forward. So as far as being interim captain, I think that he’d accept the challenge more willingly, absolutely.”
But we also saw Buck step up in a big way to help rescue everyone in the finale, after Bobby had told him he wasn’t ready to fill in for him while he was away at the beginning of the season. “[He] was told that he had to go out and live some more life. I think we’ve seen him do that this season, and he really stepped up when he needed to in this finale. I think he’s on the cusp of being ready to assume that kind of role,” Stark said, though he added, “I don’t think Buck is in a rush. He’s still at the start of his career and there are very strong arguments that there are many other people at the 118 that would be ahead of Buck in that queue.”
Will Hen and Karen adopt?
A fostering situation might actually lead to adoption for Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen (Tracie Thoms)! In the finale, Karen told her wife that they were going to foster a baby girl whose grandmother changed her mind about taking her. If after a few months her grandmother doesn’t decide she wants her, they can adopt her! This comes just as they’d given up on the idea of this happening, but will it work out this time?
Will Bobby and Athena have a relaxing vacation?
Bobby and Athena (Angela Bassett) are finally taking that cruise they’ve been trying to for quite some time now. When we suggested to Krause earlier this season that even if they got that vacation, there would probably be a murder on board, he agreed: “Maybe there’ll be a crime to solve on the ship. It’ll be like Agatha Christie or something.”
Will anyone from the 118 die?
Don’t get us wrong, we’re very happy that no one died in the finale, but considering Hen didn’t stop to take care of her concussion until after they’d gotten to the hospital, Chimney was impaled and lost a lot of blood, Eddie was trapped under a fridge, and Bobby was at the bottom of the collapse, it seemed almost miraculous they all survived or weren’t recovering longer than they were. And sure, Buck died for three minutes earlier in the season after he was struck by lightning, but he lived. Considering their jobs and traumas they’ve faced in the past, it is surprising they haven’t lost anyone yet.
