When the highly anticipated eighth season of 9-1-1 begins, fans can hardly wait to find out what happens next with their favorite characters.

This season, Bobby Nash has reached some major turning points that could change the course of his future with 118. After another harrowing near-death experience, Bobby’s life and work take a serious turn. As the new season begins, Bobby has a job as a consultant on a fire department television show called Hotshots, but it is clear from the beginning that this is not really what he imagined.

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As showrunner Tim Minear explained, Bobby’s time at Hotshots is very disillusioned. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Minear describes Bobby’s new role as “ridiculous fire brigade TV showwhich suggests that Hollywood trivializes the fire service for Bobby, completely removing it from the realm in which he experienced the profession. The love of being a firefighter – not just working as a consultant on a fictional show – is deeply rooted in him, and he has a hard time coming to terms with the glorified version of the fire service portrayed on screen.

“Bobby is just completely fed up. He’s not attracted to Hollywood or anything like that,” Minear said.

Minear goes on to say that Bobby’s path back to 118 is not entirely clear. Gerrard is already captainand there is literally no other fire station open, so Bobby faces an uphill battle if he wants his old job back. As Minear puts it: “Bobby just wants his job back. But as you know, (Gerrard) has already been put in his place and there is no other available fire station for him to captain.”

The 118 suffer without Bobby

Bobby’s absence left a gaping hole in the 118. Bobby was not only the head of the team, but also a mentor and a father figure, especially to Buck. Minear says Buck is finding it particularly difficult to have Gerrard at the helm of his team. While Eddie, Hen and Chimney have some level of experience with different captains, Buck has never experienced a captain other than Bobby. Buck feels this loss deeply, as Johnson had become a surrogate father figure to him.

Gerrard, who now runs the fire station, imposes stricter rules and makes the job much more difficult. Minear describes Gerrard as “terrible.” but he admits that he adds another interesting element to the series. It will be fascinating to watch the dramatic tension between Gerrard’s leadership and the team getting used to him.

The new season also delves deeply into the personal time in the lives of the members of 118. Eddie struggles to cope with the absence of his son; Hen and Karen fight for custody of their daughter Mara, while Maddie and Chimney navigate life with their new baby; Athena and Bobby look for a new home. After becoming a firefighter, Bobby married Marcy Nash and they had two children, Robert Nash Jr. and Brook Nash. He and his family were quite happy for years until Bobby injured his back in the line of duty and the remaining pain forced him to leave the family. had to resort to painkillers, alcohol and drugsMeanwhile, Buck is still at loggerheads with Gerrard over some leadership issues. It seems the team is not quite over Bobby’s departure yet.

As 9-1-1 Season 8 returns this Thursday, September 26th on ABC. These personal and professional setbacks should be interesting to watch. You can stream the previous seasons now on Hulu as you prepare for this dramatic new season.

Source: Collider