9-1-1 Goes Cosmic; Nashville Spinoff Details

ABC’s 9-1-1 returns for season 9 as the first full season after Bobby Nash’s death; the new trailer confirms a plot that sends Athena Grant-Nash and Hen into space amid a meteor/asteroid emergency, a shift that has drawn criticism for stretching the show’s realism. The series leans into larger-scale disasters and spectacle to sustain viewer interest in the post-Bobby era. Concurrently, ABC is launching spinoff 9-1-1: Nashville, which premieres Oct. 9 and centers on Captain Don Hart (Chris O’Donnell) with Jessica Capshaw, LeAnn Rimes and Kimberly Williams-Paisley among the cast. In Nashville’s premiere a crash wound reveals that Blue is Don’s son and he is offered a role at Station 113; showrunner Rashad Raisani says early episodes will feature storms, country music and tornadoes. Together, the main series’ cosmic turn and the spinoff’s family revelations underscore the franchise’s move toward increasingly sensational storytelling.