(L-R) Kenneth Choi, Aisha Hinds, Oliver Stark, Peter Krause and Anirudh Pisharody on ‘9-1-1’. Photo:
Disney/Christopher Willard
Warning: This story contains spoilers for the latest episode of 9-1-1.
The 9-1-1 cast was in disbelief when they learned that one of their leaders’ time on the series was ending — but perhaps none more than Angela Bassett.
Peter Krause‘s character Bobby Nash, who has been on all eight seasons of the series, died in the Thursday, April 17 episode after using the final antidote for the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever to save Chimney (Kenneth Choi), sacrificing himself.
It’s a move that Krause said was “more than a bold creative choice on a bold show” in a statement to Variety, but instead was a way to truly honor the first responders whose lives are represented on the show. “Bobby Nash was written in sacrifice and he was built for this. First responders risk their lives on the job so that others can see another day,” Krause, 59, explained. “His story arc honors them.”
For Bassett, who plays Sgt. Athena Grant-Nash, who wed Bobby in season 2, learning that her onscreen husband was going to die was “inconceivable.”
“It was incredulous to me that it was Bobby, so it was just very surprising. Sometimes, you’re just struck dumb — and that’s one of those moments ,because their bond has been so wonderful and so strong these past four or five years,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I didn’t see that coming. None of us saw that coming.”
Angela Bassett and Peter Krause in ‘9-1-1’. Disney/Christopher Willard
The first time Bassett, 66, saw Krause on set after learning of Bobby’s fate, she said they “just looked at each other.”
“You know when your eyes just lock and you don’t know what to say? And you just bear hug each other and then you just shake your head. And bless his heart — he had to comfort all of us,” she told the outlet. “He truly had to comfort all of us while he’s going through his own processing in the moment.”
Angela Bassett and Peter Krause in ‘9-1-1’. Disney/Ray Mickshaw
In a statement to THR, Krause sent “love” to Bassett as he said, “I will miss my partner, Angela Bassett. Her strength and her sweetness, and us holding hands. We parted ways too soon.”
Tim Minear, the show’s co-creator and showrunner, told THR that the entire cast was “shocked” when they learned Bobby’s fate.
“Peter and I had been talking about it for probably three weeks to a month before I let anyone else know. I had to clear it with the network and the studio. I had to pitch them out the whole story. Everyone was very nervous.”
Angela Bassett and Peter Krause in ‘9-1-1’. Disney/Christopher Willard
Minear said that “each” of the calls he made to the cast, “one by one,” was “a little bit different, and none of them were quick because practically nobody believed me. They all thought I was punking them.”
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New episodes of 9-1-1 air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
