Buck's Official 9-1-1 Change Clears The Path For The Only Story ABC Refuses To Do

ABC (via MovieStillsDb) Published Sep 8, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT Misty Layne started as an actor and sketch comedy writer before deciding to concentrate mainly on writing. Utilizing both her love of television and film and her behind-the-scenes knowledge, she began a website reviewing films in 2013, with a focus on horror and indie media. Eventually, she began writing about all things television and film for other sites as well. Misty shares a home with five cats, a ton of books, and a fairly impressive vinyl collection. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The end of 9-1-1 season 9 saw Buck going through some major growth and evolution, setting up a new story. Though the character has matured somewhat from his overly reckless and irresponsible days, he's never quite fully grown up, as he still manages to stumble his way into shenanigans from time to time. Buck, along with the other members of the team, spent a lot of time last season mourning Bobby after his shocking death in season 8, and during this, Buck stepped up in a big way to help the others, showing greater maturity in doing so. Then, 9-1-1 season 9 finale came along to throw Buck's life into a tailspin once again with the deaths of his good friends Connor and Kameron. He was such good friends with the couple that he became their sperm donor when they were trying to get pregnant in season 6, which resulted in Buck having a biological son, Theo. Buck had no part in his life, but after Theo's parents died, the end of season 9 set up Buck taking the boy in and trying his hand at fatherhood. This storyline is going to continue to be explored in season 10, which premieres October 15, 2026, and opens up several new avenues to explore when it comes to Buck. In particular, Buck's latest story clears a pathway for 9-1-1 to give fans what they've been clamoring for, for years now — a relationship between Buck and Eddie. Buck's New Life With Theo Gets Him Closer To Eddie In 9-1-1 Season 10 ABC (via MovieStillsDb) Fostering Theo will have an immense impact on Buck’s life in numerous ways. From struggling through the ins and outs of the foster system, much like Hen and Karen did in earlier seasons, to consistently putting someone else’s needs before his own, things won’t quite be the same for Buck. He has the advantage of being wonderful with kids, as demonstrated by his history with Eddie’s son, Christopher, and his own niece, Jee-Yun. However, there’s a significant difference between being there to help out with a child who isn’t your own and having a kid yourself. Even if Buck has pretty much taken on the role of co-parenting Eddie’s son, having Theo around will offer new challenges, opening a narrative opportunity to bring the best friends much closer. The showrunners have already mentioned that Buck will be leaning on Eddie for support in season 10, giving the two plenty of opportunities to grow even closer than they already are (and let’s face it, these two characters walk a fine line between platonic and something more than platonic as it is). Additionally, showrunner, co-creator, and writer Tim Minear confirmed that Theo will “absolutely” bring Buck and Eddie closer. 9-1-1 already began intentionally paralleling Buck and Eddie’s stories in season 9. When Eddie realized that Connor and Kameron were unconscious in one of the cars involved in the bridge pile-up, he tried to keep Buck from seeing the scene, just like Buck did for him in Season 2 after Shannon was hit by a car. In fact, when Minear sat down with Decider for an interview, he had this to say about the parallels: “That was intentional. It was also what would happen in the scene. But it was intentional. I was very aware of that parallel. There’s also another parallel in that scene. When he takes Theo to the ambulance, he intentionally turns him away from the scene, which is exactly what he did with Chris in the tsunami when the dead bodies were floating by. There are parallels to [Buck and Eddie’s] stories. There’s nobody that would know more about what it’s like to be a single dad raising a kid than Eddie, so that’s convenient.” Why Buck & Eddie's Clamored For Romance Needs To Happen Sooner Than Later ABC (via MoviesStillsDb) 9-1-1 is a show about first responders, but romance has always played an integral role. Bobby and Athena were the show's primary love line until his death; Hen and Karen demonstrated the hard work of showing up every day for the person you love; and Maddie and Chimney, through all their ups and downs, have shown how healing love can be. It may not be a show about romance, but 9-1-1 does love its long-term romantic relationships. Buck and Eddie have all the trimmings to become another of those relationships, as they’re both first responders who met on the job and support each other greatly outside of work. Not only have they acted as co-parents for a good chunk of Christopher’s life thus far, but in season 4, Eddie told Buck he’d changed his will so that he would be the one caring for Christopher if anything happened to Eddie. The show has planted all kinds of seeds for this pairing to become romantic, pretty much from day one of Eddie’s arrival (and if that isn’t what they’ve been doing this whole time, there are several scenes that in retrospect would make far less sense). 9-1-1 season 10 is, objectively, the perfect time to bring this relationship to fulfillment, and not only to give fans what they’ve wanted for years. The procedural is fantastic show, but it’s also in its 10th season, and new seasons are never guaranteed. If the show keeps waiting around to finally bring Buck and Eddie together, they could easily run out of time to do so, and not delivering on all the hints that these two feel a certain kind of way about each other they’ve shown throughout the seasons would taint the legacy of a brilliant piece of television. Enjoy ScreenRant's primetime coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly Network TV newsletter (make sure to check "Network TV" in your preferences) and get the inside scoop from actors and showrunners on your favorite series. SIGN UP NOW! Release Date January 3, 2018 Network ABC, FOX Showrunner Tim Minear Cast Angela Bassett Athena Grant Peter Krause Robert 'Bobby' Nash Directors Bradley Buecker, David Grossman, Brenna Malloy, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jann Turner, Jennifer Lynch, Marita Grabiak, Sarah Boyd, John J. Gray, Barbara Brown, Robert M. Williams Jr., Kristen Reidel, Marcus Stokes, Tasha Smith, Millicent Shelton, Juan Carlos Coto, John Gray, Greg Sirota, Alonso Alvarez, James Wong, Kevin Hooks, Varda Bar-Kar, Shauna Duggins, Sharat Raju Writers Tim Minear, Andrew Meyers, Brad Falchuk, David Fury, Ryan Murphy, Christopher Monfette, Nadia Abass-Madden, Nicole Barraza Keim, Erica L. Anderson, Matthew Hodgson, Stacey R. Rose, Taylor Wong, Tonya Kong, Adam Penn Creator(s) Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Tim Minear