ABC’s new spinoff is an absurd sensation
SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers for the series premiere of “9-1-1: Nashville.”
Following the shocking cancellation of “9-1-1: Lone Star” and the death of Robert “Bobby” Nash (Peter Krause) in the original “9-1-1,” Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear are now expanding their first responder series with a brand new spinoff, “9-1-1: Nashville.” Like its predecessor, the show follows a motley crew of firefighters, paramedics and police officers as they battle emergencies and navigate the struggles and triumphs of their eclectic personal lives. Like its predecessors, “9-1-1: Nashville” opens in a whirl of chaos and crisis, proving that despite being set in a new location and featuring a brand new cast, audiences can expect the same kind of delightful drama.
“9-1-1: Nashville” opens at a music festival. Fans dressed in Western gear eagerly crowd around a stage as the headliner begins. A producer is concerned about the pyrotechnics surrounding high winds, but everything seems to be going well until she notices a tornado in the background. Almost as suddenly as the whirlwind appears, the entire platform collapses in a fury of flame and chaos.
As intense as this opening is, the core of the series revolves around Captain Don Hart (Chris O’Donnell), a fire chief who shares his love of firefighting and bull riding with his son, Lieutenant Ryan Hart (Michael Provost). Completing Fire Station 113 are Taylor Thompson (Hailey Kilgore), whose true loves are singing and songwriting, and Roxie Alba (Juani Feliz), an adrenaline-obsessed doctor who now works as a paramedic. All the crazy cases in Nashville come through 911 operator Cammie Raleigh (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), who also has a significant interest in music.
There are plenty of disasters in the pilot. In addition to the exploding festival stage, there’s a drunken bachelor wreck, plus a breathtaking boy-with-the-red-balloon moment with a little girl and a kite. But at the heart of the new show is a significant rift in the Hart family. A long-kept secret comes to light, upsetting Ryan and changing his and Don’s close bond. At one point in the episode, Ryan even jokes to his mom and dad, Bythe (Jessica Capshaw), saying, “It’s a wonder I’m not in therapy.” This won’t be the case for much longer. In addition to the new family drama, Ryan and his emergency room wife, Samantha (MacKenzie Porter), are not exactly on good terms. (She doesn’t even appear in the pilot.)
Other intriguing characters include Dixie Bennings (LeAnn Rimes), an embittered former singer determined to use her son Blue (Hunter McVey) to get revenge on her old lover. While the show’s core story isn’t exactly groundbreaking, the over-the-top, intense, and fast-paced emergencies, along with the captivating plot twists, will undoubtedly draw audiences in. This new chapter from Tennessee is taking off and is sure to unfold and evolve in unexpected ways.
More than anything, even amid the silliness and absurdities of the medical emergencies, the show’s feel-good moments of people being saved and others working together portray a deep humanity. However fictional, these uplifting moments are currently missing from our real news cycle. Despite the soapy qualities of “9-1-1: Nashville,” this particular element, along with the rather suspenseful cliffhangers, is the reason why “9-1-1” viewers have been rooting for the franchise for nearly a decade.
Overall, “9-1-1: Nashville” delivers exactly what fans of the franchise are looking for, but with a little country flair and some new clever characters. While they may be disappointed that Captain Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) will no longer grace their screens on a weekly basis, given the opportunity, the cast of “Nashville” seems more than capable of filling the void. It will be interesting to see what unimaginable (and frankly unbelievable) crises this new series will face.
“9-1-1: Nashville” premiered on October 9 on ABC and new episodes air weekly on Thursdays.
