Note: This story contains spoilers from the “9-1-1” and “9-1-1: Nashville” 2026 crossover event.
ABC’s “9-1-1” shows came together for an eventful crossover event, bringing two members of the L.A.’s firehouse 118 to Music City for some competitive firefighter games.
That premise certainly made way for silliness and competition, but it came on the heels of big changes for Buck (Oliver Stark). He put pressure on himself to excel at the games after learning he and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) were submitted to compete by Capt. Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) prior to his death, and also used the trip as a way to avoid his feelings on a bombshell reveal that his parents are getting a divorce.
“He switched into game mode [in Nashville], whether he’s doing that for healthy reasons or not, I don’t know. But he’s certainly channeling anything he may be feeling at the time and masking it with his competitiveness and just trying to fully commit and throw himself into doing Bobby proud and the whole 118,” Stark told TheWrap of the special visit.
It’s not long before Buck and Eddie find themselves leading a rescue on Nashville’s iconic Broadway Street, after a man drunkenly flirting with a woman ends up falling from a rooftop bar straight down into a hot dog machine.
Production on the big emergency took place on the last night of filming the crossover, with cast and crew getting through the grueling outdoor scenes in freezing temperatures to get the L.A. cast back home before a forecasted ice storm — one that would end up being one of the worst in decades for the city.
“It was definitely an intense night. It was their last night in town. We wanted to make sure they got home safely, and they had just worked extremely hard,” said “9-1-1: Nashville” star Hunter McVey. “But it was definitely a blast to just watch them in their element and see how natural it is for both of them after doing this for so long.”
“It wasn’t as busy as it might have been on a summery Nashville Friday night, but it was still nice to be really in it and among many bachelorette parties and such roaming down Broadway,” Stark added.
The Broadway rescue opened the door for a somewhat lukewarm welcome for Buck and Eddie into the 113, as the Nashville firefighters brought them back with them as a thank you for helping in the emergency — while also sussing out the competition for the upcoming Firefighter games. After Don (Chris O’Donnell) was sidelined from the games due to injury, Blue was tasked with representing Nashville alongside his brother Ryan (Michael Provost).
The games themselves were an exercise in teamwork, rivalries and hilarious commentary from Dixie (LeAnn Rimes), Blythe (Jessica Capshaw) and one of the wives of another firefighter. They watched — and drank — as firefighters from across the country competed in various challenges, headlined by our “9-1-1” franchise stars, along with the reigning champions from Boston and the underdogs from Kenosha.
McVey highlighted a resistance challenge as the most challenging, in which Blue and Eddie were strapped to a firetruck and tasked with pulling it to a finish line using only their own strength. “The amount of laughs that Ryan and I had together when we were doing the fire truck pull, just because of how crazy it looked,” he said. “Without any help that truck was not moving … that was a really fun one to shoot.”
After the games were forced to pause due to a nearby emergency, which the firefighters teamed up to control, the competition ended in a celebratory tie. Kenosha ended up pulling the win of the final challenge, with the Nashville and L.A. team coming together to help get their new friends over the finish line and securing enough points to share first place.
Sharing the trophy established a new bond between both firehouses, which McVey says signals there will be more fun crossovers to come.
For now though, the episode showed some forward movement for Blue and Taylor (Hailey Kilgore), after they left the afterparty together and continued to solidify their relationship.
As for Buck, the episode ended rather abruptly after Eddie left him at the bar with only Dixie as his flirty companion.
“I had a little laugh to myself, and I think I texted [‘Nashvilles’ showrunner Rashad Raisani] and he said something like, ‘Buck is gonna buck,’” Stark said. “He is who he is at the end of the day … It’s just a fun little moment to close things out.”
Both McVey and Stark teased that the remainder of the season will see their characters pushed to new heights. For Buck, Stark said he’ll be tested by new challenges and twists — likely to include his parents’ new relationship status. As for Blue, McVey teased that while he’s been firmly on his mother’s side, the rest of the season will see him establishing more of a bond with both the Harts and with his growing relationship with Taylor.
And both characters’ journeys are far from over, with both “9-1-1” shows securing renewals for another season on Thursday. All’s well in “9-1-1” land.
“9-1-1” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT followed by “9-1-1: Nashville” at 9 p.m. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Hulu.
The post ‘9-1-1’ Franchise Stars Break Down Intense Nashville Crossover’s Biggest Moments appeared first on TheWrap.
