More than three months after 9-1-1 embarked on its midseason hiatus in November 2024, ABC’s hit procedural drama made its highly-anticipated return with Season 8, Episode 9, “Sob Stories.”

The eventful installment showed the 118 responding to a fire at a local animal shelter. It revealed that Eddie (Ryan Guzman) is indeed moving to Texas to reunite with his son. It gave a glimpse at Buck (Oliver Stark) “spinning like a top.” And it showed Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Athena (Angela Bassett), and missing persons detective Amber Braeburn (Abigail Spencer) team up to take down a serial killer in a chilling storyline based on the real-life Weepy Voiced Killer from the 80s.

While the team seemingly closed the disturbing case, right before the end credits rolled, in true 9-1-1 fashion, Amber snuck into Maddie’s home, knocked her unconscious, and dragged her away in an apparent kidnapping. If you thought that cliffhanger was terrifying, just wait until next week’s episode…

“It’s probably the scariest episode we’ve ever done,” co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear told Decider over Zoom. “Jennifer Lynch directed it and did a phenomenal job. And Abigail is lights-out. She is so good.”

While Braeburn’s motives aren’t entirely clear when “Sob Stories” ends, Minear promised more impressive duality from Spencer ahead. “She’s more than one person, as we will discover. Abigail is going to blow your mind in Episode 10,” the showrunner teased. And no surprise here, but Hewitt is “astounding” as well.

In celebration of 9-1-1‘s Season 8 return, Minear broke down Episode 9 with Decider, teased what’s next for Maddie, unpacked Buck and Eddie’s palpable tension, gave a look at the eventful season ahead, and more.

We have to start at the end of Episode 809 with that major Detective Amber cliffhanger. Tell me a bit about how the great Abigail Spencer got involved with the show, and the duality we can expect from her in what I assume is a terrifying Episode 10. 

It’s probably the scariest episode we’ve ever done. Jennifer Lynch directed it and did a phenomenal job. The whole thing was based on [the Weepy Voiced Killer], a real serial killer from the 80s. And Abigail is lights-out. She is so good. The way she got involved is that Sean Dawson, our casting director, was like, “I think she might be available!” And so she came in and just owned it. She’s going to blow your mind in Episode 10. And by the way, she’s all those characters, right? [The empathetic, determined detective and the violent kidnapper.] She’s not putting it on. She’s more than one person, as we will discover…

Oh boy. I saw that Abigail was in a 2007 episode of Ghost Whisperer, so I hope her and Jennifer Love Hewitt enjoyed their chaotic reunion. 

Yeah, they worked together before! And the entire cast fell in love with Abigail. Kenny Choi was texting me yesterday saying, “We should bring her back somewhere!”

Jennifer has said she lost her voice when filming this arc and that it’s “the craziest thing she’s ever done on 9-1-1,” which I feel like is saying a lot. Do you agree with that assessment? And what can you tease about her performance and what she’ll be facing next week? 

Oh my god, Jennifer is astounding. I mean, it’s what you’ve come to expect from Jennifer Love Hewitt. She’s completely believable and really draws you in and takes you on the ride with her. Is it the most insane thing we’ve done with with Maddie? I mean, it might be. It possibly even pushed a little bit more than the story with her ex-husband. 

Oh, so we’re terrified. Even before the kidnaping, Maddie was going through some serious emotional trauma during those 9-1-1 calls. She told the killer at one point that she could relate to him. She was flashing back to when she left Jee-Yun. And she felt so guilty when he died. After Maddie had such a challenging postpartum journey, what made you want to have this installment for her when she was pregnant again? 

In actuality, probably for almost technical reasons. In other words, I wanted to honor her postpartum journey from the first pregnancy, but I didn’t want to repeat it. So the fact that that’s built into her backstory and into the lore of her character, it serves as a lever of suspense in the next episode, and you’ll know exactly what I mean as soon as you see. 

Before the Maddie storyline was even revealed, you said Buck would be “spinning like a top” this season. We see that a bit when he realizes Eddie is serious about moving to Texas. The tension between them in this episode reminded me of that jealousy we saw from Buck in 704, which led to Eddie’s basketball injury and that conversation between him and Maddie. Why do you think Buck is having such difficulty expressing himself when it comes to situations like this involving Eddie? And will he continue to explore those emotions as the season progresses?

Yeah, he will definitely have to confront them this season. I think it’s because that’s just Buck’s character. In the beginning of the episode, even though it’s going to hurt him, he doesn’t want to be selfish. He wants to help Eddie do the thing Eddie feels like he needs to do. So he’s going to put his own feelings aside. But as soon as he overhears Eddie say something to prospective renters in the house, he kind of takes that as an excuse to lay down on the floor and have a tantrum. 

And Eddie calls him out on it, which I liked. Eventually Buck does admit he’s having trouble with the idea of Eddie leaving and helps him out immensely by renting his house. Eddie’s face goes on such a journey when he realizes what Buck did for him, and he doesn’t say a lot in that moment, but what’s going on in his head?

What’s going on in there is that he’s moved. I mean, Ryan’s performance in that moment, I know, is so good. Ryan and I talked right before we shot that scene. And it was scripted a little bit differently. Eddie wasn’t really mad when Buck showed up. He’s just like, “You need to go, because I have someone coming to see the house.” And Ryan said, “Can’t Eddie just yell at him?” And I’m like, “Actually, that’s a great idea.” I went back in and I revised that right before we shot it, so that he could be like, “You know what? No. This is what you do every single time.” So I think that really helped him get to a place of “I’m really frustrated with you right now.” And then when he realizes what Buck is doing on his behalf — and he’s surrounded by all the 118 at that moment, these people that have become his family that he’s about to leave — Ryan, just like you said, nails it right in that moment. He didn’t need to say anything. 

Did it cross your mind when you were writing that twist that Buck also lived in Abby’s (Connie Britton) apartment when she left in Season 1? 

Yes! It did, and I had even made reference to it later, but that ended up falling out. I think it just got a little confusing for the network. But there was a reference to that fact. For Buck, it’s different, because he’s not Eddie’s lover, for one thing. He was pining for Abby when she left. But he didn’t think he was living in her place. He thought he was waiting for her to come back. 

That’s a great point. It did feel like an interesting parallel in Buck’s life to me.

I’m glad you noticed it, because I did too. What’s different here is Buck staying in Abby’s place meant he was expecting Abby to come back. Him thinking of taking over Eddie’s lease means that he’s resigned himself to the fact that Eddie is not coming back.

Just to clarify, for anyone concerned that Ryan may be leaving the show, we’re definitely following Eddie to Texas, and the door for him to return to LA is open?

It’s absolutely open. And we definitely follow his story in Texas. He’s got a great story in Texas in Episode 12. 

I imagine there’s going to be a real adjustment period for him as he tries to find his place in this life that his parents and Christopher have built. How do you think he’s going to cope with that adjustment — especially with his support system so far away? 

He stumbles a little bit for sure, but he gets up pretty quick. 

There’s a TikTok that’s been making the rounds online and shows Buck and Eddie hugging next to a U-Haul truck. Was it tough to see that leak?

I’m not too precious about that one. Somebody was filming from across the street, as they have a right to do, but it’s not so much a spoiler, because in the episodes leading up to Eddie’s departure, he’s saying he’s leaving. So, yes, that is their goodbye scene. 

Speaking of goodbyes, we talked about Buck’s abandonment issues last time. On top of learning he’d be losing Eddie in 809, he said goodbye to a very sweet dog. I know you mentioned Buck would find some sort of temporary distraction to deal with his emotions. Was that the dog, or is another distraction coming? 

Oh there are other distractions, too.

Other distractions like a person, a hobby, another pet? 

Well, you know he loves to bake. And moving houses is going to distract him a little bit. And it’s possible he runs into other people…

Are we running into Ravi? Because I’m begging for Ravi to return this season.

Oh, Ravi is going to be on. We’ll be seeing a lot more of Ravi this season.

I love to hear it. We know Bobby and Athena finally will be getting a new home soon. Beyond that, Athena is — for some reason — going to set sail again in a Doctor Odyssey crossover episode. Was Angela Bassett excited to get back on a boat after Athena’s last experience? 

[Laughs] I don’t know if Angela was. Athena certainly wasn’t. The idea of her having to go pick up a suspect and seeing where she has to go to do it is not a thrill for her. 

If the opportunity presents itself, would you like to see the Doctor Odyssey crew come to Los Angeles or crossover on 9-1-1 somehow?

You never know! You never know. I mean, we did a crossover with The Bachelor for God’s sake. And we only got to do one and a half crossovers with Lone Star, but they were pretty great. 

And fingers crossed for a 9-1-1: Nashville crossover, of course. We covered an Athena adventure. In terms of Bobby, you said you’re hitting the house hunting storyline pretty hard in Episode 11. Could we expect to meet more of his family then?

Yes! In Episode 11, you will meet his mother. She’s played by Lesley Ann Warren, so I’m very excited. And you’ll meet his older brother, Charlie, so both characters that you met in a flashback to the 80s last season. You’ll find out what they’re up to.

I did see a rumor of Sean O’Bryan could be playing his brother, which is exciting, too.

I don’t know…

Speaking of Episode 11, I heard that a mystery cast member directed. What was that experience like for you and the cast, to witness such a milestone moment? 

Oh I’m happy to tell you. It was Aisha Hinds. It was fantastic. I had approached her about it last year. And the opportunity didn’t present itself last year. So this year I was determined to make that happen. And it wasn’t something Aisha was like knocking on my door to do. I was just like, “I think you should direct an episode.” And she had an amazing time. I’m sure she’ll tell you.

Can you share a filming update with us? What episode are you on now and is there something beyond Episode 11 you’re most excited about? You said your Season 8 goal was “to blow it all the hell apart.”

Yes! Well, first of all, I’m extremely excited for you to see Episode 10. 

That’s the one where everyone’s life changes, right?

Yes, I would say everyone’s life changes, and everyone’s life is going to be changing throughout the rest of the season. We’re currently shooting Episode 14. I’m getting ready to start prepping Episode 15. And there’s a two-parter in there — I think it’s going to be Episode 14 and 15 — that I’m very excited about. It’s ambitious in the way that the beginning of the season was ambitious. You would think it would be more of a season finale than the middle of the season, which I love. 

Oh that’s huge. Obviously 9-1-1 is amazing at tackling films. This season alone we’ve seen everything from The Swarm with bee-nado and Airport 1975 with Athena landing the plane to My Favorite Year with Brad’s storyline and Eddie’s Risky Business dance. Are you saying there’s another 9-1-1 film adaptation in store for us?

Yep. Yep. But I’m not gonna tell you what. [Laughs]

Before we go, did you see that 9-1-1 recently got a shout out on Pop Culture Jeopardy! from Colin Jost.

Oh, I did see that. It was a Buddie question. I loved it. 

New episodes of 9-1-1 Season 8 premiere Thursdays on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.