Since 2020, cable TV’s audience has declined with the rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ (Pew Research). So, when over 1,000,000 viewers of a show come from cable users, it’s bound to be worth your while. The ABC TV Show 9-1-1 falls under this category, reporting over five million viewers at the height of its popularity (USTVDB). The show is about first responders in Los Angeles, ranging from police officers and firefighters, to 9-1-1 telephone operators. The program focuses on first responders and how their personal lives are affected by their duties. The drama actively recognizes the struggles and risks taken by first responders.
However, the TV show has lost many of its viewers, going from 5.5 million viewers during the streaming of season eight – considered the show’s peak – to 2.7 million viewers in season nine.
When the trailer for season nine released, something stuck out to viewers like a sore thumb. The premiere took place in…space? Police Sergeant Athena Grant, played by Angela Bassett, and Firefighter Henrietta Wilson, played by Aisha Hinds, are offered a trip to space by someone they saved.
However, their space dreams take an unfortunate turn, as they fly into a harsh geomagnetic storm – a treacherous “space storm” – that causes magnetic forces to go haywire, cutting off satellites and data centers including the one controlling their automated space ship.
As ABC took over the show, they’ve preached trying to “maintain realism.” For instance, 9-1-1 co-creator Tim Minear has spoken about bringing realism to the show by adding a risk factor. This includes the death of a fan-favorite main character during season eight. “The next time I turn over a cruise ship, or land a plane on the freeway, or take a city out with a tsunami, you’re just going to be like, ‘Oh, everyone’s going to be fine,’” Minear said. “So it was time for there to be some real tragic fallout from a story.”
This turn of events was unexpected for many watchers of the show. Junior Tiffany Ghayvandian, a long-time fan of the show, expressed many concerns. “The unnecessary death of a key character ruined the plot. But afterwards, to go and say it was for the sake of ‘realism’ and then proceed to send characters to space and experience a high-level geomagnetic storm never seen before? If you’re going to change the perspective of the show, at least do it well,” Ghayvandian said.
Even when putting 9-1-1’s past aside, this random diverging of a production that preaches “realism” is ironic. The production shifted from killing off the main character for the sake of authenticity, to sending their characters on a near-impossible mission to space? Many viewers took this as a sign to drop the show. If the 9-1-1 team wants to make a comeback now, they’re going to have to change their approach. Either stick to realism, or go back to being unrealistic and fun. Otherwise, who will keep watching?
