A recent post to Anirudh Pisharody’s TikTok confirms his return as Ravi Panikkar in 9-1-1 season 9. The video, which humorously juxtaposes Pisharody’s knowledge of viral trends with Oliver Stark’s chronically offline confusion, shows both actors in the iconic LAFD uniform. As such, despite his tendency to fade into the background or disappear completely, Ravi is still with the 118.
What This Means For 9-1-1 Season 9
The Long-Running Procedural Has A New Character To Develop
While Bobby is gone for good, 9-1-1 still has many firefighters in its iconic station 118. Now that Howard “Chimney” Han (Kenneth Choi) is positioned to take over the vacant captaincy, there’s an open spot in the core team that Ravi can fulfill. Up until now, Ravi has been a supplemental character. With Bobby gone, however, he may be promoted.
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All episodes of 9-1-1 are streaming on Hulu.
Furthermore, Ravi’s presence suggests a shake-up in the former team dynamic. Ravi was Buck’s new partner after Eddie (Ryan Guzman) moved to Texas. With Eddie and Ravi both returning to the LAFD, Chimney being captain may have forced a reconfiguration of the 118. Ravi may now be Buck’s permanent partner, leaving Eddie to become a paramedic with Hen (Aisha Hinds).
Our Take On Ravi's Return
The Former Probie Earned His Spot With The 118
Regardless of how big his role will be, Ravi irrefutably deserves to be in 9-1-1 season 9. His character has been sidelined time and time again, but the tragedy of losing Bobby may ironically give way to the long-overdue storyline of Ravi becoming a main character. Now that he’s experienced one of 9-1-1’s hallmark near-death experiences, Ravi has proven himself.
9-1-1 returns Thursday, October 16 on ABC.
Furthermore, the support he showed his fellow 118 firefighters earned Ravi a permanent spot on the team. It would have been downright disrespectful to discard the character immediately following Eddie’s return. Ravi has incredible potential, and 9-1-1 season 9 is the first step to capitalizing on it.
