The 911 Universe is expanding. The hit first responder procedural series its set to launch its second spinoff (but the first on ABC) with the upcoming 911: Nashville and fans are excited to see what the next chapter of this juggernaut TV franchise looks like. They won't have to wait long, though, as the show is set to premiere in the fall alongside the mothership series on Thursday nights.
The offshoot has only confirmed four stars thus far and it's already safe to stay it's star-studded, with Chris O'Donnell leading the charge as the franchise's new fire captain. He'll be joined by Grey's Anatomy's Jessica Capshaw, country music legend LeAnn Rimes, and TV veteran Kimberly Williams-Paisley. The only question is: Will they be joined by any cast members from 911 throughout its debut season?
The pairing of both shows on the calendar has opened up the potential of a crossover at some point in time. 911 is no stranger to that either, as it crossed over with original spinoff 911: Lone Star when both shows were on FOX. Will the same happen with Nashville on ABC?
911 veteran Oliver Stark thinks it will. The actor, who plays Buck on the original show, told Entertainment Tonight that he thinks there is "a probably strong possibility that we will [cross over]", referencing the previous get-together with Lone Star. That event saw the 118 of the original series and the 126 of the spinoff cross paths when fighting a wildfire in Texas. The latter needed help from more firefighters out of town and the 118 were among those who provided aid. But what could bring them to Nashville? Or what could bring the Nashville crew to Los Angeles? Stark has an idea for that.
Taking with fellow 911 castmate Ryan Guzman during that ET interview, Stark said:
"The thing that I've always wanted to do in terms of like, how do you connect these cities -because we went out for wildfires on Lone Star - they do these big firefighter 'Olympic Games'. I would love to do that... mostly because we think we would win."
Stark is likely referring to the World Firefighter Games, a biennial international sporting showcase that brings all types of firefighters from across the world together to compete in challenges such as swimming, athletics, windsurfing, and archery. Its purpose is to promote health and fitness and build comradery between firefighters and first responders.
There is no doubt that an event such as this would be a larger-than-life reason to bring the cast of 911 and 911: Nashville together for a crossover (heck, it might even be a good reason to bring back some of the cast of 911: Lone Star if they're available). It would be ambitious for sure, but this show could pull it off. And knowing how these shows work, there would probably be some friendly competition between the two crews before they inevitably teamed up to save people, showcasing how they are all heroes.
The 911 shows love multi-episode events. The original show has done plenty of them throughout its eight-season run and Lone Star got in on the action a few times as well. As ambitious as Stark's idea sounds, if any franchise could make it happen on television, it's the 911 Universe.
Aside from how it goes down, we're just excited to see the casts of both of these shows cross paths some day. And with both series airing on the same network on the same night, it feels like an inevitability at this point.