9-1-1 fans are still reeling from that shocking death — but are any other main characters not returning for season 9?
The hit ABC series, which premiered in 2018, follows the professional and personal lives of Los Angeles first responders. Since 9-1-1 debuted, Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds and Kenneth Choi have made up the main cast — with Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Guzman joining one season later.
After eight seasons, viewers thought their favorite characters were safe until Krause’s character Bobby, was killed off in April 2025.
“I had been toying with the idea for a couple of seasons, actually, maybe even longer, feeling like at some point I’m going to have to do this,” showrunner Tim Minear told Deadline at the time about killing off a major character. “And then once I came up with this idea for the lab leak episode, that’s when it solidified for me that it was time to do it, it felt like a real opportunity to give somebody an epic Wrath of Khan–like death.”
Us Explains ‘9-1-1’ Offscreen Backlash After Bobby’s Controversial Death
He continued, “When it came down to deciding who should that be, I wanted it to be a character that affected all the characters’ stories in a very specific and yet different ways. There was only one man for the job, and it was Bobby.”
Fans have since expressed concern about the remaining members of the 118 after Bobby’s death coming out of nowhere. Keep scrolling to see which characters are officially returning in season 9 — and which might not:
Athena Grant-Nash
While Bassett is returning in the wake of Krause’s exit, it isn’t clear how Athena will deal with her husband’s death, but Bassett previously discussed the importance of Athena and Bobby’s relationship on 9-1-1.
“I don’t even know what the show would be like without them together,” she told People in March 2025. “It’s hard to imagine.”
Bobby Nash
Minear told Variety in April 2025 that Bobby’s death episode “is not Peter Krause’s final appearance this season.” It was also confirmed that the show is not in a rush to find Bobby’s replacement.
“I’m not solving that problem right away for the rest of this season,” the executive producer told TV Insider at the time. “There is an interim captain there who is not going to be the captain going forward, but the last three episodes are not about who’s in Bobby’s chair. The last three episodes are about that chair is empty.”
Buck Buckley
Stark’s character is one of the people grieving Bobby as the rest of season 8 prepares Us for the show’s next chapter. During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Stark described the rest of Buck’s season 8 journey in three words: “Uncomfortable, opportunity and devastating.”
Hen Wilson
Not only is Hinds expected to reprise her onscreen role but hopefully the actress will have a chance to direct another episode in season 9.
“I was nervous to film the entire thing,” Hinds exclusively told Us in March 2025. “Only because I just didn’t have a gauge. I didn’t have a sense of what it was that I didn’t know, because I had never done it before. So while everyone was very supportive and encouraging in telling me, ‘You know more than you think,’ I didn’t know exactly how those things would manifest and where the application of the things that I know would be best used in service.”
Us Explains Why Firefighter Shows Are Killing Off, Losing So Many Characters
Chimney Han
Choi’s character survived the contagion (and a rebar to the skull in season 1) but his failure to save Bobby will haunt Chimney.
“In a lot of ways, Chimney’s the original 118er; he’s been there longer than anyone,” Minear told USA Today. “I was thinking back to the episode where Bobby was sharing his origin story with Chimney: how he had come to L.A. with a death wish, that he was going to achieve his atonement and then join his kids in the afterlife. Chimney had been keyed into Bobby’s lore earlier and more personally than any other character.”
He continued: “It was very important for me that I had at least three episodes after this event in order to process the loss and start to put the pieces back together.”
Maddie Buckley-Han
If there’s anyone who is returning for another season, it is the character who literally survived having her throat slashed.
“I feel like the complicated thing about Maddie is that we met her in such peril and she’s been through so much. And even though as audience members, we want her to find joy and love and happiness, who Maddie really is is this person,” Hewitt told TV Guide in March 2025. “She is a survivor. She is a fighter. And for better or for worse, she’s made for these situations. It’s really fun for me to play her in these situations, and I think it’s fun for the audience to watch, even though we hate-love it. Even though I feel like the audience has a love-hate [relationship] with seeing Maddie in peril, it is who she is. It is the life that she has led, like it or not. So I was just thrilled.”
Hewitt did hint that the first responders on the show are “not safe from that trauma or that danger” they save others from, adding, “Everyone is going to be different because these kinds of big things change you. I think they will change Chimney, they will change her, but there is a baby on the way — and that’s positive. I think Tim does a really beautiful job of chaos and trauma and drama. There is also still the possibility for beautiful moments of joy, so we’ll have those too. But yeah, this is an intense comeback for us and I just hope [the fans] love it.”
Eddie Diaz
Ahead of Bobby’s death, Eddie went to Texas to fix his relationship with son Christopher (Gavin McHugh). Eddie wasn’t there to say goodbye to Bobby — but perhaps this will be the reason he comes back to Los Angeles.
“Eddie experienced it in a different way. He wasn’t there,” Minear told The Hollywood Reporter. “He got a phone call. So in a way, I think what Eddie’s feeling is, “Would it have been different if I had been there?” So that’s not going to be easy for him, but we’re going to see all that in these last three episodes.”
Tommy Kinard
While Eddie’s romance with Tommy (Louis Jude Ferrigno Jr.) took a hard left turn, it remains to be seen if they will continue to cross paths in season 9.
