Peter Krause has been a TV staple for almost four decades. On Monday, he adds an alluring new character to that legacy.
He plays Mike Hollingsworth on NBC’s “Line of Fire,” a secret service agent with a deliciously messy family of fellow law enforcement officers working across agencies like the U.S. Marshals, the FBI and the Department of Justice. Life throws a wrench at the typical, politically adjacent Hollingsworth family drama when they become targets of a trained serial killer. And Mike was days away from retiring, not necessarily by choice.
It’s the latest complex role for an actor who’s built an impressive repertoire, with leading roles in shows like ABC’s “Sports Night” in the 1990s, HBO’s “Six Feet Under” in the 2000s, NBC’s “Parenthood” in the 2010s and most recently on eight seasons of ABC’s “9-1-1.” His character in the first responder drama, Fire Capt. Bobby Nash, was killed off with a heroic sacrifice in Season 8 that reshaped the show’s identity and left fans in shambles.
“It was hard. I loved Bobby Nash and the audience did too,” Krause told TheWrap. “It was a great eight years. We did things that had never been done before on TV.”
For countless interviews, Krause touted the Fox-turned-ABC action drama as a TV version of a comic book, where the lead firefighters and paramedics face impossible emergencies and are seemingly invincible. The Ryan Murphy-produced drama series has produced some ambitious action sequences through the years, as characters like Bobby survived plane crashes, tsunamis, cruise shipwrecks and more.
But a rare virus emergency finally took the character’s life in 2025, leaving the show to face the major loss and higher stakes when the emergency siren rings.
“I knew it was coming. (Co-creator and showrunner) Tim Minear called me well in advance and I had to keep it to myself. I was carrying around the secret from the rest of the cast for quite some time until we filmed it,” Krause said, noting the “incredible” fan response to his character’s death. “It was an impactful character, but I’m very happy to move on to ‘Line of Fire,’ which is a very different show.”
“Line of Fire” brings Krause back to NBC, where he spent “some of the happiest years of my career” across six seasons of “Parenthood.” It was created by Joshua Safran, creator of the Broadway-centered soap “Smash,” the FBI procedural “Quantico” and EP of both “Gossip Girl” shows. It also stars Hope Davis as Mike’s estranged wife Jane, along with Kat Cunning, Tommy O’Brien and Taylor Bloom as their kids, in addition to Charlie Barnett.
“Frankly, I didn’t expect somebody of Pete’s and Hope’s stature in these roles,” Safran told TheWrap. “Broadcast is a certain way of working. I can’t believe Pete’s done it for as long as he has, God bless him.”
For Krause, it was Safran’s inventive script mixing family drama elements with a core central mystery and a criminal case of the week that convinced him to take on the role. He liked that the show immediately places the viewer in the middle of the Hollingsworth family mess, including strained relationships, secrets, dysfunctional dynamics and the responsibility of helping protect the country above all else.
“Everybody’s lives are already happening, and you just have to jump on board,” Krause said. “There’s a lot of emotional energy between Mike and Jane, I look forward to that extended storyline.”
The show is currently filming Episode 7 of 13, though Krause shared that “it was mentioned to me by a certain executive that we should be prepared for more episodes this season … we’ll see.”
And the actor still believes in broadcast TV. He sees the value in compelling programming that’s available to audiences who aren’t “subscribed to every streaming service.”
“Network television has provided people a great deal of comfort, knowing that they can return week after week and spend time with these characters that they love,” Krause said. “There’s still room for great storytelling on network TV, and that’s what Josh Safran and company are trying to do on ‘Line of Fire’”
“Line of Fire” premieres Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.
The post Peter Krause Sounds Off on ‘9-1-1’ Exit and Betting on Broadcast Again With NBC’s ‘Line of Fire’ appeared first on TheWrap.
