9-1-1 Downfall: Athena’s Days Are Numbered and Here’s How We Know
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She’s cheated death countless times before, but can Athena Grant survive yet another disaster on 9-1-1? Her days may be numbered and the reason has been hiding under plain sight this whole time.
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Angela Bassett, the lead star and an executive producer on 9-1-1, made her debut as Athena, a patrol sergeant for the Los Angeles Police Department, in the pilot of the police procedural drama. She’s one of five original cast members left on the series, along with Peter Krause (who plays Athena’s husband Captain Robert “Bobby” Nash); Oliver Stark (who plays firefighter Evan “Buck” Buckley); Alisha Hinds (who plays firefighter and paramedic Henrietta “Hen” Wilson); and Kenneth Choi (who plays firefighter and paramedic Howard “Howie” Han.)
More: The all-time best firefighter shows in TV history
Since the premiere of 9-1-1, Athena has had to fight tooth and nail to stay alive. But after eight seasons of fighting surviving house fires, murderers, and even a cruise ship gone haywire, could Athena’s nine lives finally be up?
Does Athena Grant die in 9-1-1?
The preview of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 2, “When the Boeing Gets Tough” — the second part to the series three-part Season 8 premiere — saw Athena in danger — yet again — when the plane she’s on starts to crash because of a hole in the roof. “Air traffic control! Mayday! Mayday!” Athena calls into her radio as passengers panic and the pilot is unconscious. “There’s a hole in the plane. Tell me that you’ve come up with a plan?”
The preview continues with Athena telling her fellow passengers that she’s going to land the plane herself. “Athena’s on the plane, isn’t she?” Athena’s husband, Captain Bobby Nash, asks Buck, who replies, “She’s flying it.” That’s when Bobby says what all 9-1-1 fans were thinking when they saw Athena at death’s doorstep yet again: “Of course she is.”
So does Athena die in 9-1-1? While we won’t know for sure until the episode airs, we’re inclined to say no. Neither ABC or Bassett, who also serves as an executive producer on 9-1-1, have confirmed that Bassett is leaving the show. Bassett has also shared several posts promoting 9-1-1 on her Instagram, so it’s hard to believe that she would leave after the second episode of Season 8.
More: Meet the 9-1-1 cast’s kids and families in real life in the gallery below
Still, while we think Athena will survive her plane crash, there is reason to believe that Bassett (and thus, Athena) could be leaving 9-1-1 sooner rather than later. For one, Bassett and her husband, Courtney B. Vance, signed a first-look deal with 20th Television and their production company, Bassett Vance Productions, in September 2024, which affect how much time she has to spend on 9-1-1, especially if she plans to star in one of her first-look projects. Under her and Vance’s multi-pact deal with 20th Television is Monkey Boy, an upcoming drama series based on Francisco Goldman’s book of the same name.
Along with their first-look deal with 20th Television, Deadline also reported in August 2024 that Bassett and Vance were also producing a drama series titled Keats for NBC, a rival network to ABC, the channel 9-1-1 airs on. Though Bassett hasn’t revealed whether she will star in Keats, the series follows another police officer, Alex Keats, a fourth-generation cop who walks away from the job and her family to return to Philadelphia to bury her mother, another decorated officer who dies by suicide. Or so she thinks. “The closer Alex gets to discovering the truth about her mother’s death, the closer she gets to joining her family back on the force … where she belongs,” Deadline’s description of the series reads. The series seems to be a replacement for NBC’s Blue Bloods, which also follows a family of police officers.
And then there’s the fact that Bassett is the highest-paid cast member on 9-1-1 at $450,000 per episode, according to a 2021 report by Deadline. A source told Deadline in 2023 that the reason that FOX cancelled 9-1-1 was due to its high cost to produce the series at around $9 million to $10 million per episode. The magazine gave two main reasons for 9-1-1‘s high cost: the expensive visual effects and stunts used to re-create natural and man-made disasters, and the 9-1-1 cast’s expensive salaries — especially Bassett’s — which have only increased since the show premiered. Though ABC later saved 9-1-1 from cancellation, that high cost to produce the series likely still remains, which could mean Bassett’s days on the series are numbered even more.
9-1-1 is available to stream on Hulu.
Watch ‘9-1-1’ on Hulu
See how much the 9-1-1 cast makes, including who earns the most.