The 9-1-1 franchise is expanding yet again in the 2025 TV schedule, and the upcoming premiere of 9-1-1: Nashville on ABC has me thinking back to the final season of 9-1-1: Lone Star on Fox back in the spring. By the end, I was a bigger fan of Owen (Rob Lowe) and the rest of the Lone Star team than I currently am of the 9-1-1 crew, and not just because of the shocking death of Bobby (Peter Krause).
Considering the new series now with Chris O’Donnell making his post-NCIS: LA return to primetime and Jessica Capshaw switching away from Grey’s Anatomy on ABC, I realize that I have high hopes for the new action drama.
What To Expect From 9-1-1: Nashville
With the cancellation of Joshua Jackson’s Doctor Odyssey, ABC had a vacancy on Thursday nights, and the fall schedule is set to include two shows set in the same TV universe for the first time since Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Station 19 ended in early 2024. 9-1-1: Nashville arrives on October October 9 at 9 p.m. ET (between 9-1-1 and Grey’s) and focuses on the first responders of Nashville, Tennessee.
Based on 9-1-1 and Lone Star, it’s a safe bet that Chris O’Donnell will be turning in some very different performances than his did over fourteen seasons of NCIS: LA on CBS, and Jessica Capshaw won’t be wearing her Grey’s Anatomy scrubs for her new character. The new series also stars Kimberly Williams-Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Hailey Kilgore, Michael Provost, Juani Feliz, and Hunter McVey.
Executive producers include Ryan Murphy, Tim Minear, and Rashad Raisani, with the trailer shedding light on how Nashville will hold its own in the franchise. Take a look:
Well, if nothing else, it’s clear early on that there’s going to be significantly more country music and rodeo action in 9-1-1: Nashville than on 9-1-1 and Lone Star! The brand of family drama also seems to be different than what there was between Owen and T.K. (Ronen Rubenstein) on Fox. The cinematic action and danger is certainly similar to 9-1-1, however, but I’m still hoping that Nashville will feel more like Lone Star than the original series.
Why Lone Star Raises My Hopes For Nashville
I think part of why I came to prefer 9-1-1: Lone Star to 9-1-1 is simply due to the fact that the Fox series was set in Austin, TX and not Los Angeles. There are plenty of shows – disastrous and otherwise – set in LA, and honestly, by the time we hit the bee-nado in Season 8 and now facing characters seemingly going to space in Season 9, I’m ready for some smaller-scale disasters that are a little easier to believe. (No, I’m not forgetting that Lone Star ended on an asteroid as the big threat of the finale.)
Despite some crossover action, 9-1-1 and Lone Star largely felt separate enough that I could mentally celebrate the more bonkers twists on the original show from what I felt were the more grounded twists on the spinoff. Plus, while there’s of course melodrama on both, I wasn’t as tired of Lone Star’s by the end as I am by some of the relationships on 9-1-1 heading into the fall season. (You can find both series streaming with a Hulu subscription now.)
None of this is to say that I hate OG 9-1-1, but I think Nashville could freshen the franchise up by airing on the same night. Plus, Lone Star showrunner Rashad Raisani is on board Nashville in the same capacity, so I can’t help but be optimistic that some of what really worked in that series will be applied to the newest entry in the franchise.
We can all find out with the series premiere of 9-1-1: Nashville when it airs on ABC on Thursday, October 9 at 9 p.m. ET, between the Season 9 premiere of 9-1-1 and the potentially deadly Season 22 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy at 10 p.m. ET. If you don’t watch your TV live, you can also plan on streaming the first episode next day on Hulu.
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