Over the previous seven seasons, “9-1-1” has confirmed itself to be one of many wildest, most sudden community procedurals on the air. (You may see our checklist of the present’s finest episodes right here.) It isn’t a shock that one thing from the thoughts of Ryan Murphy would enjoyment of throwing audiences for a loop, contemplating his previous exhibits like “Glee” and “Nip/Tuck.” However the primary concept of “9-1-1,” which follows a gaggle of first responders in Los Angeles as they navigate troubled private lives and in addition save the lives of numerous Angelenos in sticky conditions, permits for the sudden. However typically the sudden implies that solid members depart in stunning style. Although the present’s most current season ended with a really jaw-dropping departure, “9-1-1” has at all times been snug saying goodbye to its solid when the second is proper.
Within the present’s first season, one of many major characters, Abigail Clark (Connie Britton), served as a 9-1-1 name operator coping with some household points at house. And but when the present’s shortened opening yr ended, Abby left for good. Why did an actress as spectacular and beloved as Connie Britton be part of this huge new present for only one season? Because it seems, although followers could also be disenchanted to study it, Britton was by no means meant to be a protracted-working fixture of “9-1-1.” The truth is, Britton’s departure after one season was at all times the plan. Let’s dig into why that is the case.
Abby Clark was at all times meant to be a one-season character
Abby Clark was, when “9-1-1” started, the principle level of entry for audiences who could have wished to get a way of the expertise of those that function emergency name operators, not simply the primary responders who’re despatched to totally different conditions to save lots of somebody. Abby, like most of the different major characters, additionally had a turbulent private life, residing at house along with her mom (Mariette Hartley), who suffered from Alzheimer’s. Whereas coping with her mom’s medical troubles, Abby additionally struck up a friendship with one of many present’s different leads, the younger and hunky EMT Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark), a friendship that rapidly changed into a romance. Whereas Buck was launched as one thing of a mattress-hopping himbo who saves lives on the facet, his reference to Abby in addition to the methods he tried to help her by way of coping with her mother added some maturity to the character.
However quickly sufficient, Buck skilled heartbreak due to Abby. When her mom died within the first season’s penultimate episode, Abby was impressed to make a journey to Eire that her mother was by no means in a position to take. What that meant inside the present’s actuality was that Abby was leaving Los Angeles behind, in addition to her new paramour. In our actuality, although, as Murphy defined to Deadline on the time, the reality was that Connie Britton had signed a one-yr deal and regardless of being one of many present’s larger names (together with Peter Krause and the legendary movie icon Angela Bassett), she was going to depart. “Connie had simply come off ‘Nashville,’ and she or he did not need to do one other present instantly,” Murphy defined, saying that the compromise was for Britton to hitch the present for its opening season solely with the potential to return sooner or later.
The excellent news is that Britton did return to the 2-half finale for “9-1-1″‘s third season, as she ended up aiding with a significant practice derailment whereas reconnecting with Buck and serving to give him closure for his or her transient relationship. But because the present’s co-creator Tim Minear explained in a submit-mortem, her return at the moment was virtually definitely the final time we might see Abby on the present shifting ahead. Minear famous that Britton is a really busy actress, having appeared in restricted sequence like “The White Lotus,” “Soiled John,” and “Zero Day” since her time on “9-1-1” however that “the celebs aligned for the finale.”
Whereas something can occur, Abby Clark is probably going not going to return to 9-1-1
If you happen to’ve been a devoted viewer of “9-1-1,” even because it made the leap from ABC to Fox, you recognize that this can be a present on which absolutely anything can occur. The solid members have handled swarms of bees, a capsized cruise ship, burning buildings, and extra. So it is at all times potential {that a} character like Abby Clark can return in some capability, particularly now that the present has grappled with even larger losses in its seven seasons. But because the present prepares to air its eighth season on the autumn on ABC, it appears fairly seemingly that Abby is not coming again.
The time when she returned on the finish of the third season was a bittersweet option to resolve the open-ended nature of her romance with Buck, who has since moved on (and has additionally come out as bisexual, a element that had not been the case when the 2 characters had been initially collectively). Extra importantly, Buck’s personal sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) serves because the focal 9-1-1 name operator, primarily changing Abby. Although most followers would not say no to seeing the luminous and proficient Connie Britton as soon as extra on the planet of “9-1-1,” this can be a case of a seemingly abrupt departure that made excellent sense creatively and has been so successfully resolved that to convey her again would possibly undo one of many extra strong interpersonal storylines the present has concocted.