9-1-1 season 8 is on its way, and there’s about to be major drama around the 118.
After being canceled by Fox at the end of its sixth season, 9-1-1 found a home on ABC for season 7. Although the Hollywood strikes gave way to a shortened episode order, the show thrived in its new home and was picked up by the network for season 8 mere days after its 100th episode aired in May.
The series, which was created by Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy, follows the emergency responders of the LAPD and Los Angeles Fire Department station 118 as they attempt to handle a myriad of ups and downs in both their personal and professional lives.
Season 7 certainly had its fair share of high points. Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) came out as bisexual, and his sister, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), tied the knot with longtime love Chimney (Kenneth Choi).
For other characters, however, season 7 was filled with troubled waters. Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen’s (Tracie Thoms) foster license was revoked, while Bobby (Peter Krause) and Athena (Angela Bassett) lost their house in a fire.
Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman), meanwhile, said a heartbreaking goodbye to his son, Christopher (Gavin McHugh), after he was caught having a secret affair with a woman who looked just like his late wife, Shannon (Devin Kelley).
“I want to have some resolution. I want to show that Eddie could be a good person, but that doesn’t offer great TV,” Guzman exclusively told Us Weekly in June about his season 8 hopes for Eddie. “So I want to show some relatability in Eddie. I see more times than not when somebody’s dealing with something that hard, they go back to our comfort zone. And [Eddie’s] comfort zone is not expressing his feelings, it’s keeping closer to the book, doing his job as best as he possibly can, almost turning into that soldier-like individual and just accomplishing whatever’s in front of him.”
“We also know that Eddie is a very emotional individual,” he added. “There is this anger that just kind of comes from him, and we’ve seen it when he fights. So having that volatility and suppressing it, I think that’s what I wanna see for the next season.”
Guzman’s wish for Eddie to fall back into a “soldier-like” routine might just come true. In the last moments of the season 7 finale, it was revealed that the 118 had been taken over by the strict — and homophobic and racist — Captain Vincent Gerrard (Brian Thompson), who ran the station before Bobby arrived in L.A.
Keep scrolling for everything to know about season 8 of the ABC procedural:
When Does ‘9-1-1’ Season 8 Premiere?
The show was renewed days after the 100th episode aired in April 2024. Season 8 is set to premiere on ABC Thursday, September 26, at 8 p.m. ET. It will be followed by new series Doctor Odyssey at 9 p.m. and Grey’s Anatomy season 21 at 10 p.m.
How Many Episodes Will ‘9-1-1’ Season 8 Have?
Although season 7 was shortened to 10 episodes due to the Hollywood strikes, season 8 will contain a whopping 18 episodes.
Where Can You Watch ‘9-1-1’ Season 8?
Episodes air on ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET and are available to stream on Hulu the next day.
Who Is in the ‘9-1-1’ Season 8 Cast?
As of right now, the existing 9-1-1 cast members appear to be on board for season 8, including Bassett as Athena Grant, Krause as Bobby Nash, Stark as Evan “Buck” Buckley, Guzman as Eddie Diaz, Choi as Chimney Han, Hinds as Henrietta “Hen” Wilson and Hewitt as Maddie Buckley.
While Eddie’s son, Christopher (McHugh), is expected to return, Guzman told TVLine in June that fans shouldn’t expect to see the duo on screen together right away after the season 7 finale saw Christopher moving to Texas with his grandparents.
“I know for sure that in the first episode [of season 8], we likely won’t see Eddie and Christopher together,” Guzman told the outlet. “My hope is that Eddie has a good portion of time without Christopher, which would allow him the opportunity to find new structure, maybe rework who he is a little bit and find new textures of life for him.”
What Is ‘9-1-1’ Season 8 About?
While much of season 8’s plot is being kept under wraps, a teaser posted via ABC and 9-1-1’s official social media accounts in July featured the show’s logo against a black backdrop with a swarm of bees buzzing around it.
“What’s all that buzz about?” read the Instagram caption. “A new season of #911onABC premieres September 26 at 8/7c on ABC and Stream on Hulu.”
No other details were given, but the series has a history of introducing a major catastrophic event at the start of every season.
There’s also the question of the 118’s future after it was revealed in the season 7 finale that Captain Vincent Gerrard (Thompson) had returned to take over after Bobby briefly quit. Krause told TVLine in June that he’s excited to see what kind of tension that brings.
“I like them butting up against each other,” he explained. “I could see Gerrard having a real grudge against Bobby for getting all this positive attention after he took over Gerrard’s firehouse, and now he wants it back.”
Bobby and Athena are also homeless after their house was destroyed in a fire. Krause said he and showrunner Tim Minear have theorized about what could come next for the couple, which included them living in “an apartment or hotel and being confined together again.”
“Their relationship is deeper and stronger now, and I think we can withstand some comedy,” he said. “I had also pitched to [Tim] that maybe they go on an RV trip together as a second chance at a honeymoon. So I don’t know if that’ll ever happen or not, but I mean, it’s an RV trip. What could go wrong?”
What Can Fans Expect When We 1st Catch Back Up With the 118?
Not atypical to the series, 9-1-1 will return with every member of the 118 facing a crisis, Entertainment Weekly reported in September. In addition to a giant swarm of bees descending on L.A., Bobby will find work as a technical advisor on an action TV show called Hotshots — in what certainly will be a meta moment allowing Krause to show off his comedic chops — while simultaneously searching for a new home with Athena.
Buck, meanwhile, will have difficulty with Captain Gerrard running the fire station, Maddie and Chimney will be focused on taking care of Hen and Karen’s former foster daughter and Eddie will be grappling with Christopher moving halfway across the country with his grandparents.
“We just wanted to generate some buzz,” Minear joked to EW.
