9-1-1 star Oliver Stark is optimistic about what’s in store for Evan “Buck” Buckley in season 9 when viewers return to the 118.
“He’s in a more progressed place than I think we would have found him at the end of season 8,” Stark, 34, told exclusively ahead of the Thursday, October 9, premiere.
“Some time has passed. He’s living in a new house, so he’s putting down some roots, but he’s still adjusting, and he’s still figuring out what his place is within the new 118, and what that looks like around him and what he can do within it. So he’s not completely on steady ground yet, but he’s certainly, as I say, in a somewhat more progressed place than we would have last seen him.”
Part of that growth will include moving into a new apartment after temporarily staying at BFF Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) home while he was in Texas with his son, Christopher (Gavin McHugh). While Buck avoided settling into a permanent space last season, Stark explained that his character is now much more willing to make a home for himself as he embraces a new chapter.
“We don’t see him moving in for a couple of episodes, but it ends up being a much more character-filled house,” Stark teased of Buck’s new digs. “He has art on the walls. He has things on the tables. It’s just a lived-in space compared to his very pristine, minimalist apartment that we used to find him in.”
While Buck begins to thrive in his home life, rapid changes at the 118 won’t be as simple to navigate. Stark revealed that Chimney (Kenneth Choi) will be stepping up as interim captain, which also leads to new pairings on the team.
“We saw at the end of last season that Chimney was the guy who was ready [to be captain], so he’s the interim captain. And then we find Eddie and Hen partnered up as paramedics, and then Buck, unfortunately, [is] stuck with Ravi,” Stark joked before quickly adding: “No, very lucky to be stuck with Ravi.”
Although the shake-ups aren’t anything viewers haven’t seen before, Stark said they’ll feel more impactful this season. “It’s an adjustment period because of that,” he noted.
The adjustment will need to be swift, as the season 9 trailer suggests, a geomagnetic storm soon hits Los Angeles, sending the 118 into action. Additionally, the team appears to be short a few key players, with Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Athena (Angela Bassett) heading to space for an “every day hero” mission.
9-1-1 has long been known for its outrageous emergencies, “beenado,” anyone? but images of a space trip and a meteor shower had even longtime fans questioning how the show would pull it off.
“I think there was an assumption that Hen and Athena had been sent into space to help someone,” Stark said of the early reactions.
However, viewers quickly learned from the season 9 trailer, released exclusively by Us earlier this month, that Hen’s mission involves rescuing an evil CEO (Mark Consuelos) from a whale and taking part in an “every day hero” space mission, showing that 9-1-1 always manages to stick the landing.
“Obviously that [storyline is] somewhat directly mirroring something that we have seen in recent times with the space mission,” Stark noted, seemingly referencing the Blue Origin all-female flight that included Katy Perry, Gayle King, and others earlier this year. “So I think it just gave more context. I think it’s a really big picture.”
For Stark, he said he’s “never too surprised” by the scenarios the 118 faces, though it took a few seasons to develop that confidence.
“I think the first few seasons, it was always like, ‘What? How are we gonna do that?’ Whereas now I have such faith in the crew around us that I know that we can pull things off,” he explained.
“So I just think, ‘Oh, wow, yeah, great. That’s new, that’s interesting, that’s big, I’m excited. Let’s do it.’ Because I know that by the time I step onto the set, so many things are going to be in place around us that there’s barely any acting needed to be done.”
Stark emphasized that the 9-1-1 crew works hard to make every scenario feel authentic for the actors. “You really are stepping into these bizarre situations that have been created for you,” he said. “It’s not like you’re staring at a green screen. It’s very much real and practical.”
The 118 may be experts, but Stark and the cast will be joined by an entirely new fire station this year as 9-1-1: Nashville joins the franchise.
Stark said he’s met “everyone” from the new series, including Chris O’Donnell, LeAnn Rimes, Jessica Capshaw, and more, and is “excited” to see what they bring to the table. He also offered advice: it won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding.
“I spoke to their firefighters, and I just said to them, ‘Be prepared to get dirty and be tired, but it’s gonna be fun,’” he told Us. “‘Throw yourself into the emergencies, it’s physically demanding, yes, but you’re gonna come out afterwards and you’ll be like, I had a great time.’”
9-1-1 season 9 premieres on ABC Thursday, October 9, at 8 p.m. ET.