You never know what’s going to happen when keeping track of the 2023 TV schedule, or any roster of series ready to be renewed or cancelled. With that in mind, the fate of the Ryan Murphy co-created hit 9-1-1 has just seen an interesting turn of events befall its status on the airwaves to come. The bad news is that the series has been cancelled by Fox, but the good news is that it’s only so that it can move to its new network home at ABC.
The six-season drama co-starring Peter Krause and Angela Bassett was both canned and picked up for pretty good reasons, at least according to Deadline’s reporting on the matter. Apparently Fox’s end of table let 9-1-1 go out of financial concerns, and ABC grabbed its corporate sibling’s fan favorite because it’s all in on procedurals at the moment.
But while you’ll be seeing the home of fellow ABC renewals like Will Trent and The Rookie sharing space with these first responders, the entire franchise isn't pulling up stakes just yet. The recent fifth season renewal of 9-1-1: Lone Star will see that spin-off staying firmly in place at the Fox network. Won’t that make for an awkward Thanksgiving/potential crossover event?
Season 6 of 9-1-1 has already seen some pretty wild events taking place in its fictional reality. Viewers are more than likely still reeling from that weird coma episode involving fan favorite Buck (Oliver Stark). Not to mention, in the history of both the mothership series and 9-1-1: Lone Star, there have been some surprising departures that have seen actors like Connie Britton and Liv Tyler jumping ship from time to time.
That craziness isn’t going to let up in light of this big move, as EP Kristen Reidel’s previous tease about an unexpected character returning for the finale is probably going to become even more of an event to follow. Could the transfer to ABC somehow have brought back someone who’s ready to play ball again, only at a new field?
A shift in networks could mean good news for the longevity of 9-1-1. Plus, for all anyone knows, there's a chance that 9-1-1: Lone Star could wind up making that same sort of move. What'll be interesting to see is whether ABC and Fox try to compete with their individual halves of this family, in order to see which brand truly has the loyal viewers on its side. That sort of contest could get pretty nasty, especially after we've seen characters like Peter Krause's Bobby Nash exacting revenge in recent weeks.
9-1-1 will conclude its run on Fox, with its Season 6 finale set to air on May 15th at 8 PM ET. Where it will land in the grand scheme of the ABC schedule is yet to be determined. Either way, it's a safe bet that you'll still be able to catch whatever the future brings in the same place you can see past episodes. So keep your Hulu subscription updated, as you won't want to miss one minute of the action!
