Bobby's Death in '9-1-1' Leads to a Major Season 9 Cast Shake-Up

When someone experiences a loss as devastating as what Athena (Angela Bassett) experienced following Bobby's (Peter Krause) death in 9-1-1 Season 8, it's best to lean on family. Athena has two children, May (Corinne Massiah) and Harry (Elijah M. Cooper), who returned from their various life pursuits to offer their mother support in the wake of the loss. The duo will be staying around for much longer, following the revelation that Massiah and M. Cooper have been upgraded to series regulars in the upcoming season. The official 9-1-1 Instagram account shared the news in a fun post. Apart from being present for their mother, the characters will bring with them fresh arcs that will keep the season entertaining.

The characters played significant parts in the show's early seasons, particularly as Athena dealt with her ex-husband's coming out. May and Harry were also involved in some of the most impactful storylines in the show, including one about police profiling. However, the characters left home and went their separate ways as Harry left with his father while May enrolled in college. They dropped by occasionally, and in one of his visits during the show's 100th episode, viewers were treated to a different-looking Harry after the role was recast and M. Cooper took over from Marcanthonee Reis. “I reached out to Marcanthonee, who hadn’t been around for a minute, and I pitched him this story. I think he loved the story, but was just ready to do something new," showrunner Tim Minear explained at the time. Massiah has played May since the character's inception.

'9-1-1' Will Be Back This Fall

The show is still reeling from the major loss that occurred in the Season 8 episode titled "Lab Rats." As everyone prepares to return, there's uncertainty about what everything will look like without Bobby. "It’s not the same. Nothing is the same," series star Jennifer Love Hewitt said when asked how Season 9 feels. “But I do think that when you’re telling a story about first responders, unfortunately, those are the things that happen, and he was the person that mattered to everyone in the cast the most, and so I felt like he was our hero, and he always will be," she added.

ABC has already set the return date with new episodes expected to begin airing on Thursday, October 9. Apart from the new series regulars, returning series regulars include Bassett, Love Hewitt, Kenneth Choi (Chimney), Oliver Stark (Buck), Ryan Guzman (Eddie), Gavin McHugh (Chris), and Aisha Hinds (Hen).

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.