By Moss Cohen
If you need 9-1-1, you can reach it by dialing into a new network. After airing for six seasons on FOX, the hit drama is now on ABC.
“This crew has completely stepped up to the historic challenge of moving the No. 1 show in television from one network to another,” said Karey Burke, president of 20th Television. While the network is new, the thrills and excitement customary to 9-1-1 will remain intact for audiences of the show.
Viewers should prepare to hold their breaths as season seven kicks off with Athena Grant (Academy Award® nominee Angela Bassett) and Bobby Nash (Emmy® Award nominee Peter Krause) taking their long-awaited honeymoon aboard a cruise ship—but unbeknownst to them, it’s one that’ll soon be hijacked by terrorists.
The season premiere, airing Thursday, March 14, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, will also find a civilian trapped in a fighter jet, helping to kick off an action-packed three-episode arc.
“We just wanted to show up at ABC and put our worst foot forward,” joked series co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear, “and do a big disaster.”
Adding depth to the thrills are the familiar characters that audiences have come to know and love. “This is a family of people who work together and love each other through thick and through thin,” said Krause, before noting “it’s mostly thick.”
Along with Bassett and Krause, the cast that makes up that family is rounded out by Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oliver Stark, Kenneth Choi, Aisha Hinds, and Ryan Guzman.
“The thing about 9-1-1 is that it can be a rom-com, it can be a soap, it can be satire, it can be a heartbreaking melodrama. It can be all of those things in the same episode,” said Minear. “The canvas on this show is absolutely unlimited.”
And audiences are ready for the latest swarm of disasters, with the Season 7 trailer already amassing 5.1 million views.
“We’re still in the same walls, the same set, the same lot,” Bassett noted. “A lot of it feels familiar, and that part is good.”
But with a new home comes added perks. “The thing that’s exciting about ABC is it feels like the first year of the show in a lot of ways. The enthusiasm at the network is through the roof. The promotions are fantastic,” said Minear. “I just think it’s a shot in the arm for all of us.”
“To have this new infusion,” Bassett added, “it does feel brand-new.”
9-1-1—created by Brad Falchuk, Minear, and Ryan Murphy – will also hit a major milestone during its run on ABC: It’s set to air its 100th episode on Thursday, April 4.
While the show has built up a devoted fan base over the years that has grown to know the characters, the cast and crew are prepared to allow new audiences into those dynamics quickly and seamlessly.
“Maybe there are going to be some ABC viewers who aren’t familiar with the show,” Minear said. “We’re not taking for granted that everybody’s going to know who these characters are. So, I’ve been careful to make sure that it’s in the scenes.”
And what’s Minear’s message to loyal viewers who know the show on another network?
“Come on over.”
