Is (spoiler) dead? “'9-1-1' Boss Answers Burning Questions About Season 8 Premiere”

(Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for 9-1-1 “Buzzkill” season 8 premiere.

Bees! These insects have caused quite a stir since it was announced that they would be part of the inaugural emergency 9-1-1 Season 8, but in the premiere they're not the only threat.

On the 118, Buck (Oliver Stark) mainly struggles with the fact that Gerrard (Brian Thompson) is captain (Peter Krause's Bobby works as a technical advisor in a fire department show), but he is the one who saves his life in the end, When a construction worker's chainsaw breaks down at the fire station, it flies towards him. We last see Buck, Hen (Aisha Hinds), Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) trying to save him. Could this mean they are free from Gerrard's reign of terror?

“Unfortunately, he's definitely not dead,” executive producer Tim Minear tells TV Insider. But don't expect this near-death experience to necessarily make Gerrard realize he needs to change his behavior. “We will definitely see a change in the dynamic when he comes back, but I just don't know how respectable Gerrard is in some ways,” he admits. “It definitely complicates the situation.”

So what will it take to get the rightful captain of the 118 back where he belongs? Bobby “definitely wants his captaincy back, and it will take more than just wishing it to happen. “He will have to work with his old team to regain his rightful place in the world,” Minear states.

Disney/Christopher Willard

As for the bee-nado that collided with the plane as Athena (Angela Bassett) was traveling back to Los Angeles with her fiancé's murderer, Dennis Jenkins (Glenn Plummer); He's deposed to a grand jury on a sex trafficking case and someone wants him dead.

The return of Jenkins “plays into her dilemma in the first part of the season, that she thought she had put this all behind her, and it's a struggle for her because she's somehow reconciling the idea of ​​compassion and forgiveness and justice.” must. “, explains Minear. “This is their fight and it’s about how to thread the needle.”

But the bees causing a smaller plane to collide with their plane are the bigger concern. “I kind of follow the same pattern that I follow in general: you come to a season premiere and have a few funny instances that then somehow lead to something bigger that might not be an exact spin-off of what you were playing.” in the premiere episode,” the EP states. “The bee story collides with the Athena story at the end of the premiere and then it kind of becomes Airport 1975 at this point.”

And for those wondering when Athena and Bobby might be in touch: “At the end of the day, Bobby is always her lifeline. She’s always his lifeline,” Minear says.

Meanwhile, Eddie tries to FaceTime on his birthday with his son Christopher (Gavin McHugh), who is down in Texas with his parents after his father made terrible decisions involving a doppelganger of his late wife. What does it take to make this better?

Disney/Christopher Willard

“That’s the question Eddie asks himself in the first part of the season,” Minear said. “How does he restore his relationship with his son, who isn't even doing well anymore and seems to have no desire to communicate with his father anymore? Eddie must first communicate with himself. It’s time for Eddie to literally take a look in the mirror and probably wonder why the mustache.”

Yes, there's more to this than just giving Eddie a new look in Season 8. “There's a reason for it, funnily enough, which he'll reveal in Episode 6, which I think I'm really excited about,” he adds.

While we thought this might all lead to Eddie going back to therapy like he did in Season 5, that's not entirely the case. “He's not going back to therapy per se, but he's definitely not stopping things and is finding other forms of guidance and communication,” Minear reveals.

The good news is that while Buck's relationship with Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) is going well and that has affected the amount of time he gets to spend with Eddie, it doesn't impose anything else on him. “That’s what I imagined at the beginning of the season,” admits Minear. “But I found out that Eddie also has a budding friendship with Tommy, so it's not like these guys are abandoning Eddie in his time of need. “Eddie, like I said, finds other sources of guidance in his life, but no, Buck is still Eddie’s best friend.”

Could this mean significant scenes with Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Eddie this season? We haven't seen any conversation between the two yet! “That could mean that,” is all the EP would say.

The Season 8 premiere also gave us more great content about Maddie and Chimney and Hen and Karen (Tracie Thoms) – all we need is a triple date with Bobby and Athena! We could “very likely” do that this season.

At the moment, Maddie and Chimney are caring for Mara since Hen and Karen's nursing licenses were revoked due to Councilwoman Ortiz's interference. They're working to get it back, but Ortiz still has it out for Hen, who “will try to say a few things and then she'll have to do something, and it'll be even more threatening because Councilwoman Ortiz is running for mayor.” “This season she is an even more dangerous opponent,” warns Minear.

Finally, some good news: happiness awaits Maddie and Chimney And Having Mara at home could lead to a “conversation” about having another child.

“Maddie and Chimney will experience joy with some trauma, but after their wedding, Maddie and Chimney are doing really well, and I think the experience of having Mara at their home for a few months also had an effect on them “Seeing her daughter with a sister makes her think in a way,” the EP teases.

What did you think of the premiere? What do you hope to see next? Let us know in the comments section below.

9-1-1Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC