‘9-1-1’ Star Peter Krause & Team Preview Disaster-Filled Season 7 Premiere

What a rescue! After Fox axed 9-1-1 right before the writers’ strike last summer, ABC snapped up the drama about Los Angeles’ first responders. And seven seasons in, these heroes remain as disaster movie–ready as ever. “I have discovered that [showrunner] Tim Minear has aspired to be television’s Irwin Allen,” says Peter Krause, referencing the “Master of Disaster” ’70s filmmaker, “because we’ve done an earthquake, a tidal wave….” (Note: Krause’s LAFD captain Bobby Nash has also endured a burning blimp, a landslide, and a blackout!)

(Credit: Disney/Chris Willard)

Now, to make a splash in their new home, “we’re doing The Poseidon Adventure and making no mystery of it,” Minear says, adding that the opening minutes feature “an absolute tribute to Irwin Allen.” As viewers know, Bobby and his wife, LAPD sergeant Athena Grant-Nash (Angela Bassett), are setting sail on a belated honeymoon cruise. (Expect to see a couple of familiar faces on board.) Things take a titanic turn when pirates seize the ship, leading to a massive explosion and an all-hands-on-deck effort to avoid capsizing and sinking into the Pacific.

Meanwhile, for the gang at Bobby’s Station 118, Minear promises “another great disaster” inspired by a real-life case: “A fighter pilot had to bail out of his plane — and they didn’t know where the plane went.”

In addition to the series’ big 100th episode in April, emotional off-duty stories are continued, including what Oliver Stark calls “a season of self-discovery” for his reckless firefighter Evan “Buck” Buckley, and the long-overdue wedding of Buck’s sister, call-center operator Maddie Buckley (Jennifer Love Hewitt), to the LAFD’s Howard “Chimney” Han (Kenneth Choi).

In fact, it’s these character-driven dramas — and not the often insane calamities — that have become the real heart of the show. “This is a family of people who work together and love each other through thick and through thin,” Krause notes. “And because this is a comic book about first responders come to life, it’s mostly thick.”

9-1-1, Season Premiere Thursday, March 14, 8/7c, ABC