‘9-1-1’ Creator Says Main Characters Aren’t Unkillable: ‘I Just Don’t Want to Kill Any of Them’
Note: The following story contains spoilers from “9-1-1” Season 7, Episode 3.
“9-1-1” wrapped up its massive cruise ship disaster without claiming the lives of any major characters (again), but series creator Tim Minear said that doesn’t mean the beloved first responder’s luck won’t run out eventually.
The three-part Season 7 premiere event followed as Bobby (Peter Krause) and Athena (Angela Bassett) found themselves on a honeymoon from hell, after their cruise ship was hijacked by pirates and later capsized following an explosion and being caught in a Category 5 hurricane. The beloved couple managed to make it out alive, despite several near-death experiences along the way. Krause, who has starred as Captain Bobby Nash since the beginning of the Fox-turned-ABC procedural, has famously compared the show’s main characters to comic book heroes, constantly surviving unthinkable events — from deadly car accidents and tsunamis, to earthquakes and being struck by lightning.
“I don’t think the characters are unkillable. There have been a few times when they’ve come close to actually dying. I just don’t want to kill any of them,” Minear told TheWrap in a recent interview. “One day when it does happen, it’s going to be a sad day for me.”
The showrunner noted his love for characters hasn’t spared him in past projects, recalling being known as “the Tim Reaper” while working on the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” spin-off series “Angel,” where “I just killed off practically every popular character we ever invented.”
But the fantastical nature of “9-1-1” provides the allure that has kept fans tuning in through the years. Episode 3, titled “Capsized,” featured one of the show’s most ambitious stunts, as Bobby used ropes to maneuver his way to saving Norman (Daniel Roebuck), who’d been strapped to the casino’s roulette table after being shot and had ended up stuck upside down after the ship turned over.
“Peter Krause was actually 60 feet in the air, harnessed in, and actually hanging on those ropes and lowering the table down,” Minear said. “That’s one of my favorite [stunts] because you get to see Bobby having to think through [how to rescue Norman] and then accomplish it.”
Though the show’s ode to ABC’s “The Poseidon Adventure” had its fair share of action scenes, Minear said one sequence from the script had to be cut from the episodes because production “ran out of money.”
That cut moment paid tribute to the classic ABC film, specifically the scene where Shelley Winters swam to rescue Gene Hackman after he got tangled underwater. Minear said the sequence would’ve featured the capsized passengers going through a door into an upside down kitchen getting filled with water, with oil lighting up the surface with fire. The scene would’ve featured Lola Peterson (Romy Rosemont) swimming underwater to help extinguish the flames and help everyone pass through to safety.
Instead, the scene from Episode 3 was cut and replaced with the passengers encountering a door that released a “fireball” upon opening, claiming the life of one of members of the ship’s crew.
“9-1-1” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Episodes are available to stream the day after premiere on Hulu.
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