9-1-1 co-creator Tim Minear finally reveals a big factor that played into killing off Bobby Nash. It was a moment that fundamentally altered the long-running procedural drama, which hadn’t killed off a main character during its entire eight-season run. That changed with the decision to kill off Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) towards the end of season 8.
Bobby sacrifices himself in an effort to save Howard Han (Kenneth Choi), a member of his 118 family. Minear, who co-created the procedural with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, has maintained that Krause’s character was killed off as a way of making sure the show’s high-stakes emergencies had a true sense of danger. But in new and candid remarks, Minear is reflecting on the fact that there’s more to the story.
In an interview with The Washington Post ahead of the return of 9-1-1 season 9 on ABC on Thursday, January 8 at 8 PM ET, Minear reflected on Bobby’s death. Minear, who serves as showrunner, admits that the shocking storytelling turn was partly driven by financial considerations. In the quote below, the co-creator goes into his thought process regarding killing Bobby off and reveals that he harbors some regret over it while maintaining that it was the right call:
I really felt creatively the show needed something to kind of shake it up, and the reason Bobby died was because, if I was going to do this, I wanted it to be a character that would affect all the characters’ stories.
You’ll see this across the board on network shows, where they start culling the cast and culling the production and trying to make things more affordable so you can keep making the show. I have tons of regret about it. I still think it was the right move. But it’s been really wrenching for me.
Minear is right in underlining how network dramas have, in recent years, relied on utilizing fewer cast members as a way of saving on costs. Shows like Grey’s Anatomy and FBI have reduced the number of episodes that series regulars appear in as a way to keep their ensembles around. However, this is new insight from Minear, who has stressed the creative impact of Bobby’s sacrifice.
That has not gone over well with viewers. Since the 9-1-1 season 8 ending, with Howard stepping up as the new 118 captain, audiences have complained that the once lighthearted procedural has become entangled and mired in grief. It suggests there might have been a path, potentially, to reduce the number of episodes that Krause appears in or to exit him in a way that still allows for occasional guest spots.
Either option would also have the impact of shining a spotlight on the remaining 9-1-1 cast. Angela Bassett, as they have been, but also a more consistent focus on Jennifer Love Hewitt, Aisha Hinds, Oliver Stark, Ryan Guzman, and Choi. Minear might hopefully be asked about why it would have been impossible to keep Bobby alive and whether, in his regret, he’d indulge those crazy theories that Bobby is still alive.
