Oliver Stark On How ‘9-1-1’ Season 9 Will “Move Forward” After Bobby’s Death & Find “Creative Ways” For His Character To “Haunt The Narrative”

As ABC‘s 9-1-1 gears up for Season 9, the dearly departed Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) will still factor into the narrative, according to star Oliver Stark.

In keeping with showrunner and co-creator Tim Minear‘s theme of change and rebuilding following the stalwart character’s shocking death, Stark said the upcoming installment will track the rest of the 118’s grief.

“I think it’s not gonna be a linear path of healing, as I don’t think grief is,” he told Deadline during the red carpet at ABC’s End of Summer Soirée. “There are episodes that maybe feel lighter and like we’re moving directly past it and then, as grief does, it sneaks up on you again. So I don’t think it’s an overall down feeling of the show, I think it’s looking to move forward, but in a way that is respectful to the memory of the Bobby Nash character and finding creative ways for him to still haunt the narrative.”

At the end of last season, reeling in the wake of his mentor’s death, Buck (Stark) felt strongly about wanting to leave his crew, calling the 118 “just a number” without its inspiring leader.

Previewing how his oft-emotional character is processing, Stark noted, “We definitely come back to a more settled Buck, not looking to leave, and instead — I would say, probably — looking to put down more secure roots, if anything. He was obviously in a dark place at the time, and I think that has washed over him and may well come back again, but, for now, I think he’s finding more and more reasons to want to stay.”

Speaking more specifically to fan outcry following Bobby’s death (some fans promised they would boycott the show as a result), Stark said the strong response means the creatives behind and in front of the screen are accomplishing their tasks in moving audiences.

“Yeah, I think that’s the point, is to feel hurt and upset and to invest in things and to feel happy in some episodes and sad in other episodes, you know; that is the point in making any form of television or any movie is that you want people to go on a roller coaster of emotions and, for me, if people are hurt by the actions that are meant to feel painful then it means that we’re on the right path and doing the right thing, so I thank them for their investment,” he said.

Of course, amid the drama tugging at viewers’ heartstrings, the show will, in following 9-1-1 tradition, feature larger-than-life rescues, including of one tech billionaire (played by Mark Consuelos) who is swallowed by a whale.

While Stark said his character is “not as involved” in the effort as he “wants to be,” others will “spring into action a little bit faster,” resulting in Buck “feeling a little bit left out, which is fine because as long as the job gets done, he doesn’t need all the glory, but yeah, it’s not a typical rescue in terms of what Buck gets to [do to] fulfill his firefighting needs.”

9-1-1 returns to ABC at 8 p.m. ET/PT Oct. 9.