“I Would’ve Had a Good Time Over There”: ‘9-1-1’ Star Oliver Stark Explains Why Buck Was Left Out of the ‘Doctor Odyssey’ Crossover Event

Last week saw the first-of-its-kind crossover event within Ryan Murphy‘s vast world of TV shows when the dreamy high-seas medical drama, Doctor Odyssey, crossed over with the first responder series, 9-1-1. The episode, titled “Casino Week,” involved 9-1-1‘s Sergeant Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) when a new case, briefly previewed at the tail end of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11, “Holy Mother of God,” led her to a docked Odyssey. While only one character from 9-1-1 made it to the crossover episode, the original plan was for a bigger event featuring two other characters, including Athena’s husband, Bobby (Peter Krause), and Buck (Oliver Stark). Stark has now addressed his absence from the episode, teasing what could have been.

Buck and Bobby’s absence seemed to come down to what best served the overall narrative. In Bobby’s case, Bassett previously explained that she found it unrealistic for him and Athena to take another cruise so soon after their disastrous honeymoon experience. She pushed back against the original idea, leading to a revised storyline that focused solely on Athena. Buck’s involvement was apparently tied to that scrapped plan, as Stark told ScreenRant that “things moved in a direction where it was just Angela’s character.” Despite missing out this time, Stark expressed openness to future crossover opportunities with the medical drama. He said:

“There was no pitch. Well, there was a pitch of, “Would you want to do this?” But no story pitch. I had said yes at the time, but obviously, things moved in a direction where it was just Angela’s character. So yeah, I don’t know what it would’ve been. Having seen some clips from the show, I can make probably somewhat educated guess as to what it might have been, but I have no real knowledge, so I’ll probably leave it at that…. I’m sure I would’ve had a good time over there. Next time.”

Angela Bassett Has Picks for the Next ‘9-1-1’/‘Doctor Odyssey’ Crossover

Doctor Odyssey‘s “Casino Week” crossover with 9-1-1 is likely the first of many more to follow soon. For Bassett, it was an experience she thoroughly enjoyed as she recently raved about it to EW, saying: “it was nice to step onto this glamorous set. The Odyssey is a beautiful vessel and literally so is the set. The casino people were dressed in beautiful gowns and suits. I mean, my Lord, the costumes. Everything fit everyone to a tee, everywhere you look. It was just glamor and beauty.” It’s an experience Bassett wishes should be extended to her co-stars over at 9-1-1, and she has her suggestions on who should go next, telling TV Line:

“I think Maddie and Chimney would enjoy a cruise. Everyone is deserving, but on these cruises, they have these lovely places for kids to hang out all day while the grownups have their good time with gambling or entertainment or whatever. I think they would enjoy that.”

9-1-1 and Doctor Odyssey return with new episodes this Thursday on ABC at 8 P.M. and 9 P.M. respectively.