911 Season 9 Premiere Sees A Billionaire Swallowed By Whale In Wild Rescue

New details for 9-1-1 season 9’s premiere reveal how the show is looking to top season 8’s divisive bee-nado. Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s thriller series has seen its police, fire and medical first responders tackle a wide variety of cases in its eight-season run. It’s also spawned one released spinoff, Lone Star, which ended in February 2025, and upcoming spinoff, 2025’s Nashville.

Through its run, the one consistent element of 9-1-1 has been some blockbuster-scale disasters, the majority of which have served as season premieres. In addition to the aforementioned bee-nado, some of the more notable have included season 2’s devastating earthquake and season 7’s cruise ship hijacking, which was told over three episodes.

Now, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tim Minear has revealed new details about the 9-1-1 season 8 premiere. The showrunner revealed that the season will kick off with the 118 looking for a “Musk-ish, Bezos-ish billionaire who was swallowed whole by a whale“, leading to a “much larger adventure” from the matter.

The billionaire, played by Mark Consuelos, was described by Minear as being inspired by a viral video involving Adrián Simancas, a kayaker who was swallowed by a whale while in the Strait of Magellan.

What The 9-1-1 Season 9 Premiere Means For The Rest Of The Season

Chimney standing in front of a fire truck in 9-1-1

The 9-1-1 season 9 premiere hasn’t been billed as a three-parter, as the prior two seasons’ opening episodes were. However, Minear teasing that the search for the Consuelos-played billionaire will result in a bigger journey does seem to imply it could impact at least one character going into the rest of the season.

Season 9 is already expected to start off on a tense note after the final emotional 9-1-1 season 8 episodes saw Peter Krause’s Bobby sacrificing himself in an effort to save Kenneth Choi’s Chimney. Though it’s unclear how far afterward the season will pick up, it’s known Chimney is new the acting captain of the 118, while Ryan Guzman’s Eddie is also back in LA.

One curious point not yet made clear is whether the season 8 premiere will offer any kind of setup for 9-1-1: Nashville‘s story. Lone Star similarly kicked off without any major crossovers, saving such for season 2’s appearances from Aisha Hinds’ Hen, Oliver Stark’s Buck and Eddie. Given Nashville premieres the same night as the mainline show, it seems unlikely.

Our Take On The 9-1-1 Season 9 Premiere Plot

The humor will certainly be on display as Consuelos’ billionaire is in desperate need of the 118’s help in a situation that’s inherently terrifying, hilarious, and absurd. The showrunner didn’t elaborate on how this rescue will expand into a bigger story, but if the bee-nado was anything to go on, it will get ridiculous.

9-1-1 is a wacky series with heart. The premise of the season 9 premiere is a perfect way to capture this. However, the procedural is still facing some fan backlash after Bobby’s shocking death last season. The characters working through their grief on-screen and adjusting to life without him will likely go a long way with fans concerned the series will just move on.

9-1-1 season 9 premieres October 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.