9-1-1: Nashville Ordered to Series as ABC Rubs Salt Into the Wound of Lone Star’s Demise

When one 9-1-1 entry closes, another opens.

ABC confirmed Thursday that the franchise would head to Music City with 9-1-1: Nashville.

The series will premiere at some point in the 2025-26 season.

Plot details are under wraps for now, but if the set-up is the same as the other two entries, it will feature a group of first responders putting their lives on the line for the greater good.

The format works very well, as evidenced by 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star.

9-1-1 started its life on FOX but moved to ABC last year after the former felt the show had become too expensive to keep alive.

The drama starring Angela Bassett and Peter Krause made a splash on ABC and swiftly earned a renewal for Season 8.

• FBI: International’s Newest Addition Has Potential — If They Don’t Waste It (Again)
  by Jasmine Blu
• Blue Bloods Isn’t Returning, But Boston Blue Has Serious Potential (and Some Concerns)
  by Jack Ori
• Red-Hot Ratings for High Potential and Will Trent Prove ABC Should Embrace Scripted Again
  by Paul Dailly

ABC Should Have Went With 9-1-1 Lone Star Over Nashville

The continued success of 9-1-1 has led to questions about whether ABC will pick up the phone and redial those titular numbers for another entry.

Passionate fans of 9-1-1: Lone Star called for the network to save the show last year after FOX announced it would end after five seasons.

In the end, ABC’s lack of consideration led to fans getting one of the most tedious run of final episodes of any series.

Producers and writers banded together to rush storylines to climaxes, hoping to give some semblance of a conclusion to those who had stuck with it for so long.

The decision to cancel 9-1-1: Lone Star was huge at the time, but it wasn’t too much of a surprise, given that FOX is focusing on more cost-effective programming.

But there’s no denying that Lone Star would have been a natural fit on ABC, especially considering it kept the light on at FOX during 9-1-1’s typical winter hiatus.

Lone Star never reached 9-1-1’s heights, but it came close enough and sometimes surpassed it in the storytelling department.

Can 9-1-1 Reinvent the Wheel With a Third Entry?

It was brimming with potential and should have been given a sixth season to at least gracefully wrap up the storylines.

• Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 13: Kevin’s Long Overdue Centric Falls Short
  by Jasmine Blu
• Carver Struggles on Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 13, and Violet Helps an Old Foe
  by Carissa Pavlica
• Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 13 Finally Let Naomi Find Her Voice While Consequences Finally Caught Up With Ripley
  by Jack Ori

As a result, 9-1-1: Nashville’s series order probably won’t be as embraced by franchise fans as you’d expect because people are mourning the loss of the prior spinoff.

From a marketing standpoint, it does make sense to proceed with a whole new setting and cast because it would be easier to capture new viewers.

Then again, it also makes sense financially.

But it doesn’t get away from the fact that Lone Star viewers got the short end of the stick, and it doesn’t even seem like ABC considered picking it up.

In today’s TV climate, passionate audiences are hard to come by, and Lone Star’s fans were devoted to keeping the show around and for the creatives to nurture it into something better.

News of 9-1-1: Nashville’s pickup comes as 9-1-1 is awaiting a Season 9 renewal, but given its status as one of ABC’s most-watched and highest-rated dramas, an order should be with us in the coming weeks.

Since ABC is getting the two shows under one roof, we may get some crossovers in the franchise again.

What are your thoughts on the new series? Do you think ABC would have been better going with 9-1-1: Lone Star?

Hit the comments.

Watch 9-1-1: Lone Star Online

The post 9-1-1: Nashville Ordered to Series as ABC Rubs Salt Into the Wound of Lone Star’s Demise appeared first on TV Fanatic.