9-1-1 showrunner Tim Minear appears to have implied that popular fan ship ‘Buddie’ might actually be intended as a slow-burn romance.
In an interview with Celeb Scoop Hub, Minear was asked about dealing with the show’s fandom and if it can be hard to meet expectations.
“You still have a story to tell,” he said. “Sometimes the stories that they demand that you tell, they may not realise it, but what they’re really asking for is the end of the story.”
He continued: “They want something to happen, and they don’t have second stage thinking in terms of, if this show is to continue, you’ve basically just ended the story. Now there’s not going to be anything for these characters to do. That’s one thing.”
Minear went on to explain that there are “a lot of masters to serve” when it comes to audience expectations.
“I definitely do feel the pressure of certain elements of the fandom, but that’s why I avoid it now, because even when you think you’re giving them the thing that they absolutely will love, they won’t. I just think that the only thing you can really do, your only true north star, is if you feel like it’s working for you.”
Although Minear didn’t specify exactly what he was referring to in terms of stories that the fans “demand”, the most obvious answer would be firefighters and best friends Buck and Eddie being in a romantic relationship.
(The second obvious would be bringing Captain Bobby Nash back from the dead, but, well…)
Fans have been hoping and asking for the ship to become canon within the show for years, thanks to actors Oliver Stark and Ryan Guzman’s electric chemistry as the characters.
9-1-1 fans love Buck and Eddie (ABC)
However, the show itself has also been positioning the pair – and indeed Eddie’s son Christopher (Gavin McHugh) – as something of a family since season two.
Many moments and storylines between Buck and Eddie have also directly mirrored the more romantic beats between actual couples on the show over the years, with the latest season continuing the trend in a big way.
