9-1-1 season 8 showrunner Tim Minear previews a change in the Eddie and Buck relationship. Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) and Evan Buckley (Oliver Stark) have both experienced significant changes already, heading into 9-1-1 season 8. Eddie’s living life on his own, while Buck comes out as bisexual and begins a relationship with Tommy Kinard, who is played by Lou Ferrigno Jr. Both of those stories, will have an impact when the ABC drama returns in a few weeks.
Ahead of the premiere of 9-1-1 season 8 on Thursday, September 26 at 8 PM EST on ABC, Minear spoke with Entertainment Weekly about what to expect from the upcoming episodes. When it came to the duo played by Stark and Guzman, the co-creator and showrunner mentions that Buck and Tommy are still together, but Eddie might feel a little left out. Minear, who created the show with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, teases that Buck won’t have as much free time. Read the full quote below:
But we see that they’re [Buck & Tommy] more comfortable together. We’d definitely call them a couple. Obviously they’re comfortable hanging out with Eddie, but when you couple with somebody, it takes up some of your time, so that also leaves Eddie a little bit out in the cold. Well, not out in the cold, but Buck doesn’t have as much free time as he did before, let’s put it that way.
What Could 9-1-1 Season 8’s Change Mean For Eddie & Buck?
Even though Minear doesn’t go into detail about exactly what the upcoming episodes mean for Eddie Diaz, it does seem to be a reversal of fortune based on the ending of 9-1-1 season 7. Eddie’s son Christopher (Gavin McHugh) has gone to live with his grandparents, partly because he’s upset at Eddie for lying to him about a woman who looks almost exactly like Christopher’s dead mother. Eddie is on his own, a bachelor for the first time in a long time, and he might not be handling it too well.
The popular pairing of Eddie and Buck has been advocated for by many in the 9-1-1 viewership ever since Eddie’s introduction in season 2.
Of course, in the early episodes of 9-1-1 season 7, Buck wasn’t too happy about Eddie becoming fast friends with Tommy and was outwardly jealous. Tommy and Buck’s sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) both assumed that Buck was jealous because he had unresolved feelings for Eddie, but this thread has not been revisited since.
The popular pairing of Eddie and Buck has been advocated for by many in the 9-1-1 viewership ever since Eddie’s introduction in season 2, only intensifying as the two friends grew closer in subsequent seasons and Buck became something of a second father to Chris. There’s a chance to revisit that possibility, with Eddie feeling neglected and isolated. But if the hit drama is finally going to start to address a frequent audience request, it likely won’t spoil the surprise ahead of time.
