While there are no current plans to bring back Connie Britton’s Abby Clark character for Season 2 of Fox’s 9-1-1, co-creator/EP Tim Minear wanted TV critics at TCA to know “We are honoring the character of Abby; it was an important role in the first season” and that “the front door, back door, and side door are always open for her to return.”
Britton played the 911 operator in the Ryan Murphy drama’s first season; she had a one-year deal. This season, Jennifer Love Hewitt is cast as 911 operator Maddie Kendall. Hewitt said she hopes to stay with the show for the rest of its run. She describes Maddie as a nurse who was in an abusive relationship, “pretty broken and needing to start over,” and becomes a 911 operator to help people with her nursing knowledge, “but stay in a safe place, given her situation.”
Hewitt will join series stars Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi and Rockmond Dunbar. 9-1-1 explores the high-pressure world of police officers, paramedics and firefighters during emergencies.
The procedural drama was Fox’s No. 1 show in its first season, averaging more than 15 million viewers per episode, and the No. 2 new drama series overall.
For its second season, the series is moving from its Season 1 Wednesday night slot to Monday nights following a two-night premiere beginning Sunday, September 23 following NFL football.
