(Warning: This post contains spoilers for Monday’s “9-1-1.”)
“9-1-1” took on racial profiling and police brutality in Monday’s episode, “Rage,” in which Athena’s ex-husband Michael (Rockmond Dunbar), and their children May (Corinne Massiah) and Harry (Marcanthonee Reis) had a run-in with the authorities that almost ended in Harry being shot. This incident leads Athena (Angela Bassett) to confront the officer responsible and Michael to have a talk with their son he wished he never had to have.
“It was sort of the heart of the episode,” “9-1-1” showrunner Tim Minear told TheWrap of Michael’s harrowing encounter, which included a moment where a gun was pulled on his son by a police officer. “We knew we wanted to do an episode about rage and so we were kind of casting around and looking for stories and cases that would fit into that scene. And it felt like something we needed to do, it felt like something we wanted to do and I was confident that we could do it in a way that wasn’t exploitative and was sensitive and that put our audience into the point of view of somebody like Michael to really understand the gray areas and what that feels like.”
The episode, titled “Rage,” was written by Lyndsey Beaulieu, who Minear says worked to make sure it was “not some sensationalistic version of a thing that is hardcore, racist cops that are part of the KKK or something — but that kind of gray area that so many people have to live with.”
On a lighter note in a dark episode was the reveal that Buck (Oliver Stark) is coming back to Station 118 after dropping his lawsuit against the city, even though Bobby (Peter Krause) is still more than a little nervous about his condition.
“Buck is told he’s in fact won because the powers that be have bent to the threat of a lawsuit,” Minear said. “Also, Buck has decided not to take the giant settlement and some pencil pushers in the city government were probably glad not to write that big check. But Buck is gonna have to sign a bunch of waivers and forego any blame or responsibility that he might lay at the foot of Bobby or the fire department, if he wants to come back and play on the field, which is what he wants to do. Bobby has other ideas.”
And Miner says Bobby’s concerns are definitely “legitimate” here.
Oh, and if you were wondering about the possibility of Lena (Ronda Rousey) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) hooking up after she introduced him to a Los Angeles fight club don’t hold your breath.
“She introduced him to a way to blow off some steam through this underground fight world, but I think that’s as far as it goes. We’re not setting up a love match here,” he said.
“9-1-1” airs Mondays at 8/7c on Fox.
29 Most Enchanting TV Witches, From Samantha Stephens to Sabrina Spellman (Photos)
It's finally Halloween, which means now is the time to once again celebrate pop culture's witchy women in all their pointy hatted glory. While films like "Hocus Pocus" and "Practical Magic" are packed with wicked ladies, in our opinion, TV witches still reign supreme. Check out TheWrap's gallery to find the small screen's 29 most iconic female spell-casters. Who knows, maybe you'll get a great idea for this year's last-minute costume from this list of magical ladies.
Samantha Stephens, "Bewitched" - Is there a more legendary TV witch than Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery)? Not according to her husband Darrin, who says she's "one witch in a million."
ABC
Prue, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell and Paige Matthews, "Charmed" - The Charmed Ones charmed viewers with their sisterly love while fighting the forces of evil for eight seasons, three with eldest sister Prue (Shannen Doherty) and five with half-sister Paige (Rose McGowan), who reunited with her siblings after Prue's death.
CBS TV Studios
Willow Rosenberg, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - Best friend to Buffy Summers, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) developed her magical abilities over several seasons, eventually becoming so powerful she almost ended the world once.
20th Century Fox
Bonnie Bennett, "The Vampire Diaries" - Bonnie (Kat Graham) was a truly powerful witch who spent a ton of her time sacrificing her own happiness to help her friends. But by the end of the series, her full potential had been realized, as she managed to save, well, the world.
Warner Bros
Alex Russo, "Wizards of Waverly Place" - By far the best of the Russo siblings, Alex (Selena Gomez) was a fun, confident teenage girl who was the shining star in her family of wizards.
Disney Channel
Sabrina Spellman, "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" - The original teenage witch, Melissa Joan Hart's version of the Archie Comics character is a staple of '90s culture.
ABC
Sabrina Spellman, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" - In 2018, Kiernan Shipka took up the role of Sabrina for Netflix's darker take on the character and put her own spin on the spunky, half-mortal witch.
Netflix
Prudence Night, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" - Keeping it in the "Sabrina" universe, the leader of The Weird Sisters and the daughter of Father Blackwood, Prudence (Tati Gabrielle) is a force to be reckoned with in the Church of Night.
Netflix
Melisandre, "Game of Thrones" - The Red Woman's (Carice van Houten) prophecies weren't always right, causing more than a few problems for our heroes. But she did bring Jon Snow back from the dead and helped Arya kill the Night King, so she made up for all that in the end.
HBO
Regina/The Evil Queen, "Once Upon a Time" - Regina (Lana Parrilla) was a wicked witch, but by the time the ABC fantasy series came to a close, she had more than redeemed herself for all her previous wrongdoings and got to enjoy a happy ending. Plus, no one said being evil would prevent you from making this list. In fact, some of our favorite TV witches were bad.
ABC
Rita Repulsa, "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" - Speaking of baddies, Rita Repulsa (Machiko Soga) was a major thorn in the side of the Power Rangers and probably appeared in the nightmares of many '90s children. Seriously, that cackle is seared into our brains.
Saban Entertainment
Witchiepoo, "H.R. Pufnstuf" - Another kids' show with another wicked witch who managed to steal our hearts with her goofy antics.
NBC
Margo Hanson, "The Magicians" - A high-spirited magician, Margo (Summer Bishil) is known for her gossiping, competitive nature and drama, drama, drama.
Syfy
Morticia Addams, "The Addams Family" - Before Anjelica Huston took on the role for the big screen, Carolyn Jones portrayed the character in the 1960s TV series, giving us a Gothic goddess to aspire to.
ABC
Fiona Goode, "American Horror Story: Coven" - Possibly Jessica Lange's greatest role of all time and definitely her best "American Horror Story" character due to her fierce wardrobe and even fiercer attitude toward keeping her title as the coven's Supreme Witch. Too bad she was damned to hell in the end.
FX
Marie Laveau, "American Horror Story" - While we're in the "AHS," fam Angela Bassett's voodoo queen was a fan-favorite character from "Coven" (Season 3) who made a badass return on last year's crossover installment, "Apocalypse."
FX
Tabitha Lenox, "Passions" - Tabitha (Juliet Mills) never got her revenge on all of Harmony, but we still remember her as the greatest character on the weirdest soap opera there ever was.
NBC
Angelique Collins, "Dark Shadows" - One of the darkest characters on "Dark Shadows," Angelique's (Lara Parker) love-hate relationship with Barnabas Collins fueled the majority of the show's wild plot.
ABC
Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier, "The Simpsons," "Treehouse Of Horror VIII" - Of all "The Simpsons" Halloween specials, this one is our favorite, since it gave us a green Marge and her wicked sisters.
Fox
Queenie, "American Horror Story" - A human voodoo doll, Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) had one of the most unique powers in her coven.
FX
Rowena, "Supernatural" - Even though Rowena (Ruth Connell) has screwed Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) over more times than they've died (long story) they forgive her, and we forgive her, over and over because she's just so fun. And helpful, too -- sometimes.
The CW
Adalind Schade, "Grimm" - Claire Coffee's Hexenbiest had a haunting face and a killer personality.
NBC
Elizabeth Woodville, "The White Queen" - It was rumored that Elizabeth Woodville practiced witchcraft and Rebecca Ferguson's portrayal of the White Queen on the BBC One/Starz series certainly upped our suspicions about the royal's magical abilities.
BBC One/Starz
Fiji Cavanaugh, "Midnight, Texas" - One of the most memorable characters from the short-lived NBC drama, Fiji (Parisa Fitz-Henley) is a fun, free spirit if ever there was one.
NBC
1 of 25
Multiple Sabrinas, actually
It's finally Halloween, which means now is the time to once again celebrate pop culture's witchy women in all their pointy hatted glory. While films like "Hocus Pocus" and "Practical Magic" are packed with wicked ladies, in our opinion, TV witches still reign supreme. Check out TheWrap's gallery to find the small screen's 29 most iconic female spell-casters. Who knows, maybe you'll get a great idea for this year's last-minute costume from this list of magical ladies.