Poll

‘9-1-1’: Should Buck Get a New Love Interest in Season 9? (POLL)

The 118 will have to figure out how to move forward without their captain, Bobby Nash (Peter Krause), following his tragic death, in 9-1-1 Season 9, and could part of that be one of its firefighters who has yet to settle down, Buck (Oliver Stark), finding love?

Buck hasn’t had much luck when it comes to love. He fell for dispatcher Abby (Connie Britton) in Season 1, then she left, and they eventually broke up off-screen after he’d been living in her place in Season 2. His streak of short-lived romances continued over the years, through the 100th episode, with the revelation that he’s bisexual after he shared a kiss with fellow firefighter and former member of the 118, Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.). The two dated into Season 8, only to split, then later hook up again after bumping into each other. But that wasn’t meant to last, either. At the time, Tommy called Buck’s best friend, Eddie (Ryan Guzman), the competition, confusing his ex-boyfriend. Buck then insisted to his sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) that he’s not in love with Eddie. That was the truth, at least as Stark saw it at the time.

“He’s telling his truth in the moment, for sure. I don’t think he’s trying to lie and hide anything from [Maddie],” he told TV Insider. “He’s never even considered this before. He’s telling his truth, for sure in that moment. This is something that’s been brought to him from Tommy and something that he was not, as I say, having any kind of prior thoughts about.”

That was in the 11th episode of the season. Now, heading into Season 9, we’ll have to see where his head and heart are. But while discussing the Season 8 finale in the spring, both Aisha Hinds and Stark did share their thoughts on Buck’s love life in general.

“I loved his and Abby’s relationship just because it kind of grounded him. In the beginning, he was all over the place and she kind of extracted, I think, some of the best parts of him,” Hinds said. “I think that the relationship that he kind of goes back and forth with Tommy is something that is kind of a beautiful opportunity for Buck to explore all the facets of himself. But I don’t think that relationship is the landing place for that exploration.”

As for what she wanted to see for him, “I would actually love to see Buck grounded in a relationship and experiencing it in the fullest way, someone who would probably extract that best side of him like an Abby, but with the freedom that he now has to be the fullest version of himself with a Tommy.”

Stark agreed. “I actually agree those two would be the most pivotal — Abby in the sense that there was so much growth for him through that relationship. If we look at Buck in the pilot compared to Buck at the end of the first season, Abby is the one that has been shepherding him through that journey, and then equally the same Tommy, obviously that relationship was hugely instrumental in Buck unlocking a part of himself and freeing that aspect of himself up,” he pointed out. “So yeah, those are certainly the two relationships that I think helped Buck find the kind of most authentic version of himself.”

Buck is going to have a new home in Season 9, after subletting Eddie’s house and moving out in the spring’s finale when his best friend returned to Los Angeles after a brief period in Texas. Perhaps as he settles down there, he’ll do the same with his love life? And if so, should we see him date around first or fall for someone, whether it’s someone he knows or someone new?

What do you want to see from Buck’s love life in Season 9? Let us know in the poll and comments section below.

9-1-1, Season 9 Premiere, Thursday, October 9, 8/7c, ABC