10 Couples From ‘9-1-1,’ Ranked
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The first responders of the Fox-turned-ABC drama 9-1-1 are the first ones we’d want to hear on the end of the line and see coming our way in the middle of an emergency. But when it comes to matters of the heart, well, some of them have that figured out much better than others.
Three relationships have been going strong—for the most part—for a majority of the show thus far, with the eighth season set to air in fall 2024. Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen (Tracie Thoms) came into the show already married, though they’d face some drama early on in the show’s run. The show surprised fans with Bobby (Peter Krause) and Athena’s (Angela Bassett) date at the end of Season 1. Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) had to get through more trauma than anyone should to find happiness. And love has not been easy for Buck (Oliver Stark) or Eddie (Ryan Guzman), but one of them might be making something work now.
Below, we take a look at 10 couples on 9-1-1 and rank them. Now, remember: These are pairs who have been shown to be romantically involved onscreen and only 10, so that means no Buck and Eddie.
What are your top couples from the show? Let us know in the comments section, below.
10. Eddie & Marisol
Honestly, we don’t even know where to start with these two. In Season 6, Eddie meets Marisol (Edy Ganem) on a call during which he and the rest of the 118 save her brother from a home renovation gone wrong. And to be honest, we never expect to see her again. Next thing we know, Eddie bumps into her at a hardware store, then calls her for a date, and soon into Season 7, she’s moving in … without any time for them to get to know each other. Fortunately, they realize just that when he discovers how close she came to becoming a nun, but sadly, that’s not the worst of it. They’re together when he runs into a doppelgänger of his late wife and starts to semi-date her and things get very messy. Let’s just say that the best part of this relationship is that it doesn’t seem like there will be one again after Marisol finds out about Kim.
9. Buck & Taylor
These two may have worked as just friends with benefits or even just friends who had a one-night stand, as they are in Season 4 (following their hookup two years earlier). But instead, the two end up getting together, he kisses Lucy (Arielle Kebbel) and follows that up by asking Taylor (Megan West) to move in, and it might as well have been the beginning of the end. Unfortunately, it’s not. Instead, it takes several (too many) more episodes and Taylor running a story she’d said she wouldn’t for them to eventually break up for good. But let’s be honest: She never stood a chance after her introduction to the team and following them around on the day they also were dosed with drugs.
8. Buck & Abby
The romance between the firefighter—especially considering he uses the truck for hookups when we first meet him—and dispatcher is a surprise in the first season, and on the one hand, it can be said that it helped Buck to grow. But on the other hand, when Abby (Connie Britton) left at the end of the first season, that really should have been it for their relationship. For her, it is. He stays loyal even as Maddie tells him she’s not. And it only gets worse when Abby shows back up, in the middle of a train derailment, and needs Buck to save the life of her fiancé.
7. Eddie & Ana
It’s not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with this relationship, it’s just, to be frank, boring. There are no sparks, and it seems to be more about how Ana (Gabrielle Walsh) and Eddie’s son Christopher (Gavin McHugh) relate to each other than the romance. The relationship is pretty much doomed from the moment Eddie has a panic attack after she’s mistaken for his wife.
6. Eddie & Shannon
Maybe in another life, Eddie and his wife last. Maybe they raise Christopher together. Maybe she still leaves for Los Angeles (with a note for Eddie) but they make it work when they reunite to get their son into a school. Maybe Shannon doesn’t want a divorce. Maybe she doesn’t get hit by a car and die. Maybe he doesn’t realize, as he seems to think now in Season 7, that she may have been the love of his life. But those are just maybes and what ifs. And despite how rocky their marriage was, it’s still probably his best relationship to date.
5. Buck & Tommy
Buck’s best relationship so far is his latest with Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.); he realizes he’s bisexual after getting jealous when Eddie makes a new friend, only to reveal that it’s because he wanted the attention of the former member of the 118, leading to a kiss in the show’s 100th episode. At first, Buck struggles to admit he’s on a date with Tommy when Eddie runs into them, but he does then tell his best friend and his sister and invites Tommy to her wedding as his date. It’s at that point that the rest of the 118 finds out about them. Season 7 ends with them still together, and really, whatever happens next, it would take a lot to make it Buck’s worst relationship.
4. Michael & David
One good thing comes out of the blackout that causes a whole lot of chaos: Athena’s ex-husband Michael (Rockmond Dunbar) meets a doctor, David (La Monde Byrd), in an elevator. The two date and live together through the pandemic, and David pretty much becomes part of the family (with Michael and Bobby’s hijinks) even before Michael eventually proposes—which is derailed by a major fire in the hospital. The two then leave Los Angeles, but an update in Season 7 reveals they’re married. This is probably the least drama-filled, successful relationship on the show (helped, admittedly, by a lot taking place off-screen).
3. Hen & Karen
One of the best couples on TV is already married when the series begins. And we have to give all the thanks to Chimney for setting up his coworker and neighbor, as 9-1-1 finally reveals in Season 6 flashbacks. It’s not smooth sailing even from the start, to get to the happy family they are with their son Denny (Declan Pratt)—from Hen’s ex Eva (Abby Brammell), another obstacle—but a firefighter/paramedic and a literal rocket scientist? Their love is solid, and they’re a great example of a couple making it through the hard times, near-death experiences, and tough blows together.
2. Maddie & Chimney
Their relationship starts out sweet enough, with the dispatcher and firefighter/paramedic having sparks from the moment he, Buck, and Eddie help her move into a new place. Then they’re basically dating without realizing it, but when they finally do plan to have dinner, her abusive ex-husband (Brian Hallisay) shows up, stabs Chimney, and kidnaps Maddie. It’s an emotional rollercoaster from there, consisting of the birth of their daughter, her postpartum depression (causing her to leave for a period of time), an off-screen breakup, awkward one-night stand then reunion, and finally an engagement and wedding. These two deserve all the joy they get, and we love that we finally see that in Season 7.
1. Bobby & Athena
The couple we don’t expect becomes the one we can’t live without. The captain of the 118 and the sergeant surprisingly go on a date (after a rough call) at the end of Season 1, and as they navigate the early stages of dating in Season 2 (keeping it secret, for example), we realize just how great they are together. Their fights are raw (like when she discovers he’s sponsoring a woman whose drunk driving caused a pile-up at AA, or he faces that tragic fire from his past coming back to haunt him), and there’s nothing like her saving him or the two of them working together to save an entire cruise ship on their honeymoon).
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