The procedural drama series 9-1-1 reached 100 episodes following its move from Fox to ABC for season 7. That 100th episode, which aired on April 4, centers on Buck (Oliver Stark) dealing with complicated feelings toward Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr). The episode unfolds with Buck finally confessing his feelings, which results in a kiss between Tommy and Buck, and leads to the two of them agreeing to go on a date.
Dedicated 9-1-1 fans had long speculated about Buck’s sexuality and eagerly anticipated his first kiss with another man on the show — and it finally happened in a way that was exciting, but also pointedly casual for the characters involved.
“Something that’s always touched me emotionally, more than anything in my life, is when people are able to live as their authentic selves,” actor Oliver Stark, who plays Buck on 9-1-1, tells Out. “It’s something that has always, for whatever reason, brought a tear to my eye. When I see somebody living openly and proudly as who they are, it has always really affected me.” I see him get a little emotional talking about it. “So, to get to now go through this storyline and hopefully help people feel more seen, that really means a lot to me.”
The procedural drama series 9-1-1 reached 100 episodes following its move from Fox to ABC for season 7. That 100th episode, which aired on April 4, centers on Buck (Oliver Stark) dealing with complicated feelings toward Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr). The episode unfolds with Buck finally confessing his feelings, which results in a kiss between Tommy and Buck, and leads to the two of them agreeing to go on a date.
Dedicated 9-1-1 fans had long speculated about Buck’s sexuality and eagerly anticipated his first kiss with another man on the show — and it finally happened in a way that was exciting, but also pointedly casual for the characters involved.
“Something that’s always touched me emotionally, more than anything in my life, is when people are able to live as their authentic selves,” actor Oliver Stark, who plays Buck on 9-1-1, tells Out. “It’s something that has always, for whatever reason, brought a tear to my eye. When I see somebody living openly and proudly as who they are, it has always really affected me.” I see him get a little emotional talking about it. “So, to get to now go through this storyline and hopefully help people feel more seen, that really means a lot to me.”
It isn’t until shooting episode 98 that Stark finds out about Buck’s first kissing scene with a man in the 100th episode of the series. “Tim Minear, who writes the show, called me up and said, ‘I want to pitch this Buck storyline to you,'” Stark recalls. “He proceeded to tell me about the character of Tommy and what that would lead to. He wanted to know how I felt about it and if I was on board with it. And obviously here we are, so of course I was. I was really excited for it, and I’m really happy with how it’s played out.”
Despite the undeniable progress of LGBTQ+ storytelling and inclusion in mainstream media, there are still people in our community who are glaringly underrepresented in film and television. Bisexual people, for instance, continue to be intensely misjudged, misunderstood, and misrepresented on and off the screen.
