9-1-1’s Fate Has Been Decided Ahead of Season 8 Finale on ABC

It’s official — 9-1-1 is coming back for another season! ABC has just announced that the procedural drama starring Angela Bassett has been renewed for a ninth season with an 18-episode order. 9-1-1 joins the list of other ABC fan-favorites, including Grey’s Anatomy and The Rookie, renewed for the 2025-26 primetime lineup. Not just that, but the 9-1-1 universe will also expand with the upcoming spinoff, 9-1-1: Nashville starring Chris O’Donnell.

The news comes shortly after the highly anticipated crossover event between 9-1-1 and Doctor Odyssey, which aired on March 20, 2025. Unfortunately, the fate of Doctor Odyssey is still unclear. The medical drama starring Joshua Jackson is still under review for a second season. Doctor Odyssey has been averaging 4.9 million weekly viewers, which shows a 77% retention rate from 9-1-1. As of now, the network is engaged in discussions about the show’s future.

The renewal comes as no surprise since 9-1-1 remains a top performer for ABC. The show ranks second in total viewers and No. 1 in the key 18-49 demographic. These latest renewals are followed by the network’s previous announcements of Abbott Elementary and High Potential being picked up for Seasons 5 and 2, respectively.

Tim Minear Spills the Beans on the Future of the ‘9-1-1’ Franchise

In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, 9-1-1 executive producer Tim Minear opened up about how difficult it was to say goodbye to 9-1-1: Lone Star. The Texas-based 9-1-1 spinoff came to an end on February 3, 2025, and Minear wishes that fans had stopped acting like it was competing with the original series, when that was never the case. “I really loved the five years that we did on that show,” he confessed.

According to Minear, 9-1-1: Lone Star was “not trying to be the same show” as 9-1-1, and similarly, 9-1-1: Nashville is not going to “try to be” Lone Star. The showrunner shared how much he loved the cast of the canceled spinoff and expressed hope to work with them again soon. While speaking about the upcoming spinoff, Minear shared that the producers believed Nashville was the perfect fit for the franchise. “It’s the city itself, it’s personality,” he explained.

In another interview with TV Line, Minear confessed that the team had considered several cities before settling on Nashville. One of the reasons was that the city was unlike Austin, where 9-1-1 Lone Star took place. However, the producer admitted that choosing Tennessee was a practical decision as well, since the state is extremely production-friendly. The upcoming spinoff will star O’Donnell as Captain Don Sharpe, who runs Nashville’s busiest firehouse along with his son. For now, Minear has no plans of bringing any characters from 9-1-1 Lone Star over to Nashville.

9-1-1: Nashville is set to premiere during ABC’s 2025-26 season. An exact date has not been announced yet.