9-1-1 season seven will be the first on ABC - and the network appears to be kicking this new chapter off with a major opening emergency that will throw our beloved leads Captain Bobby Nash and Sergeant Athena Grant straight into the action.
A series of teaser trailers released reveals that the 118 will be callled out to the ocean after terrifying explosion on a cruise ship, and although it's unclear if the ship is the same one that Athena (Angela Bassett) and Bobby (Peter Krause) were seen boarding in the season six finale for their long-awaited honeymoon, one of the clips reveals a Sergeant's badge floating in the water.
Watch the first look clips below...
"I'm on a cruise ship, there was an explosion," a passenger tells a 9-1-1 operator in the first short clip, which was released on December 29, 2023, and only showed the cruise ship in the dark of the night.
The second showed the Sergeant badge alongside a set of keys and a man's watch, while a third showed a woman's hand outstretched inside a porthole.
Little else is known about the new season, which was impacted by the 2023 SAG and WGA strikes, and therefore will not return to screens until March 2023, but eagle-eyed fans will remember that Athena and Bobby chose to head out on their honeymoon in secret… making this rescue all the more trecherous.
It will also be the first season to air on ABC, the sister network to 20th Television, the production company responsible for creating 9-1-1 since its 2018 debut, along with its spin-off 9-1-1: Lone Star, which will remain on Fox.
However, Fox had no ownership in the series, and each episode is rumored to cost up to $10 million, and with expensive visual effects and stunts, Fox's decision to let the series go to ABC was purely financial.
HELLO! understands that there have been no changes to the showrunner or production teams; Kristen Reidel has been running the show since Tim Minear placed his focus on spin-off show 9-1-1: Lone Star.
It is thought filming will begin with the core cast, including Oliver Stark, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Ryan Guzman, on January 2, 2023.
The SAG strike ended in November and was later ratified by the members.The strike lasted for 118 days and put a huge strain on the film and TV industry as the association which manages the studios refused to negotiate in good faith over key areas of contention including AI usage.
The writer's strike ended in September and allowed showrunners for the likes of 9-1-1, The Rookie and NCIS to return to rooms, and the deal struck by SAG and AMPAS meant that despite fears that many networks may push the release of new seasons back to September 2024, many will return for a shorter 13-episode season in spring 2024.
Although 9-1-1 is waiting until March, Chicago Fire season 12 will return alongside season 9 of Chicago Med, and season 11 of Chicago PD on Wednesday January 17, 2024 on NBC.