‘9-1-1’: A crisis around every corner
Life is a constant emergency. That’s the idea behind Fox’s 9-1-1 (Wednesdays, 9 ET/PT, a drama portraying the non-stop intensity of first responders in Los Angeles, on and off the job.
Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk ( American Horror Story, Glee), 9-1-1 focuses primarily on Bobby (Peter Krause), a seasoned firefighter in recovery for alcohol and drug abuse; Athena (Angela Bassett), a beat cop trapped in an unhappy marriage; and Abby (Connie Britton), a “What’s your emergency?” operator caring for a mother with Alzheimer’s and trying to get over a bad breakup.
The pilot starts with tension at a seven and ratchets it up as the episode goes along, rarely pausing between professional and personal emergencies.
Rather than focusing on a single crisis, each hour sends its characters to several. In Wednesday’s premiere, Bobby’s crew responds to a potential drowning, a woman being choked by her pet snake, a birth that goes criminally wrong, a car accident and a home invasion. They aren’t solving murder or medical mysteries, and sometimes the audience doesn’t get closure, because the first responders don’t, either — they can’t follow a victim into the hospital because they have to go help someone else.
This unrelenting pace is a tad overwhelming but makes for a fast-paced hour that never drags. 9-1-1’ s non-stop action serves as the series’ spectacle, an antidote to the soapy melodrama Murphy employs elsewhere.
The three strong performers elevate the sometimes too on-the-nose dialogue and plotting. Bassett, in particular, is a standout as a woman constantly on the edge, whether at home in her failed marriage or in the field dealing with men questioning her decisions. Britton has the most understated role as a melancholic 9-1-1 operator, but the actress makes her scenes, in which she’s often at a desk, feel like a vital part of the action. Her home life, too, is ripe for dramatic potential.
The series feels different from other procedurals, but it stumbles when it falls into familiar narratives and character beats. Oliver Stark’s Evan “Buck” Buckley borders on the cliché, a young hothead who takes foolish risks and doesn’t respect authority, forcing Krause’s Bobby to take on the role of disapproving father figure.
Ultimately, 9-1-1 may be a too-predictable and unremitting show, but when it takes off, it’s quite the ride.