You Tell Us: Should Angela Bassett Exit 9-1-1 After Season 8?

Angela Bassett is one of the most talented actresses of our generation. Her impressive career, which has spanned decades, is not slowing down. 

Sadly, I’m starting to get the impression that she would be wise to walk away from 9-1-1 after Season 8. 

That’s not a knock on Angela, or her beloved character, Athena Grant-Nash. 

Eight seasons is a long time to spend on the one show, so I imagine she’ll be questioning how long she should stay with the FOX-turned-ABC first responders drama.

As an award-winning actress and executive producer of the show, there’s an incentive in her walking away while it’s still burning bright creatively. 

Sometimes, even the best shows say goodbye to their best characters. More often than not, it’s because their portrayer wants out to branch out to other projects. 

But Angela has been racking up the credits, despite helping the show put out 18 episodes each season. 

This year alone, she’ll return to the big screen in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and is set to star opposite Robert De Niro on Netflix‘s new series, Zero Day. 

Angela Is One Of Movie & TV’s Biggest Stars

None of Angela’s roles are remotely similar because she brings such acting prowess to every single one of her projects, but I fear that she’s done all she can with Athena at this point. 

Athena is a multi-layered character who has been the driving force behind some of 9-1-1’s best storylines, but it’s hard to imagine that being the case for much longer. 

9-1-1 Season 8 has been a valiant effort at reinventing the wheel, effortlessly shaking up dynamics to deliver more nuances of the characters we’ve grown to love over the years. 

For Athena, that meant delving back into the past as she transported the man who killed someone close to her. 

In doing so, she was caught up in a deadly encounter in the sky as the plane they were on had an emergency situation and she activated hero mode once again to save the day. 

While the plot lacked the pizazz of the Athena-heavy cruise ship disaster that kicked off 9-1-1 Season 7, there were a lot of great moments. 

However, the series puts viewers through hell because it constantly drags Athena and Bobby (Peter Krause) apart as they navigate these big disasters, and then leaves us waiting for episodes at a time to find out whether they make it back to one another. 

That would be fine once every few years, but it’s becoming the norm at this point, and there’s every reason to believe it will continue. 

9-1-1 Would Be Forced Into Uncharted Territory

Angela departing 9-1-1 would create a knock-on effect that would shake up the show. That would be a great benefit, but it would also give the actress the time to take on bigger projects. 

Many A-list stars fizzle out, but Angela is continually reaching new milestones in her career, and she showcases in her performances why she’s so in-demand: She’s willing to take risks. 

The biggest risk of all could be leaving 9-1-1, but it would open the door to so many more opportunities. 

Over to you, 9-1-1 Fanatics! Do you feel like Angela would be wise to move on from 9-1-1, or do you think she should stay put?

Vote down below.