ABC Boss On ‘9-1-1: Nashville’ Launching With “Special Event”, ‘9-1-1’ Crossovers & Bobby’s Death
ABC‘s fall 2025 schedule has an 8 PM – 10 PM 9-1-1 block on Thursdays with the mothership series and the newest spinoff, 9-1-1: Nashville, starring Chris O’Donnell. Like its 9-1-1 predecessors — and in typical Ryan Murphy fashion — the rookie is expected to start with a bang, Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group, told Deadline, calling 9-1-1: Nashville, the only new ABC series for next season so far, “a huge priority.” You can watch 9-1-1: Nashville‘s fiery teaser below.
The scheduling has potential crossovers written all over it; something 9-1-1 franchise’s executive producer Murphy accomplished with 9-1-1 and his other ABC series, Doctor Odyssey, this season.
“I think that the 9-1-1 team are truly the masters of event-izing television, the way that be-nado kicked off 9-1-1 last year,” Erwich said. “They have a really special event planned for 9-1-1: Nashville, and although we haven’t discussed [crossovers], I think it’s an incredible opportunity that I’m sure at some point we’ll figure out how to capitalize on. What the 9-1-1‘s been able to do, it’s really a master class in television, which is consistently event-izing that show to keep it fresh after all these many years, my hat’s off to [showrunner] Tim {Minear] and Ryan for that.”
The mothership 9-1-1 delivered a shocker this spring, with male lead Peter Krause‘s Bobby Nash dying as a result of a chemical lab leak, leaving his wife, Athena (Angela Bassett) and his team devastated. Erwich shared his thoughts about the plot twist as a viewer and as an executive who had to sign off on it.
“As a viewer, it was incredibly emotional. He’s a beloved character, and there was so much grist for the mill for Angela Bassett, who I thought gave such an incredible performance in both the episode where he died and the funeral,” he said.
“Ultimately, it’s about the creative, and it was a decision that Tim Minear came to us with, and we supported him, as we always do. It was a really great night of television that created a massive amount — not just of viewing, but really social conversation. And I think it’ll give us a lot of momentum going into Thursdays next year. And it’ll be a great lead-off for 9-1-1 Nashville, which will be a huge priority for us.”
9-1-1: Nashville is an action procedural about heroic first responders, as well as their family saga of power and glamour set in Tennessee. It stars O’Donnell as Captain Don Sharpe, Jessica Capshaw, LeAnn Rimes and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. 9-1-1: Nashville is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television. Murphy, Minear and Rashad Raisani will serve as executive producers and writers, with O’Donnell, Brad Buecker, Brad Falchuk and Bassett also executive producing.
