Should 9-1-1’s Next Disaster Be More Grounded in Reality?

Another 9-1-1 multi-episode disaster is right around the corner, this time involving a contagion enveloping a part of Los Angeles.

9-1-1: Contagion joins a long list of emergencies the veteran procedural drama has tackled in its eight seasons and counting, and it likely won’t be the last.

But considering how many larger-than-life, high-stakes emergencies the show has produced, I wondered if maybe it was time to scale things back a bit and find some disasters that weren’t so fantastical. Would that really be such a bad idea?

Many people will tell you that the tsunami arc of 9-1-1 Season 2 was some of the best hours of the entire season, and I would agree with them.

The large-scale, epic disaster adventure was a television feat, and nothing on broadcast television has ever topped it and probably never will.

The series has been chasing that high for a while now, and they’ve never been able to fully capture the magic.

At this point, the big emergencies that begin the season have become campier over time, like the one that started 9-1-1 Season 8, for example.

The bee-nado journey was just a vehicle to get to the plane crash, which led to Athena inexplicably flying a plane that she and a young child would successfully guide onto an LA freeway.

And look, it was a good time.

9-1-1 has always excelled at action pieces mixed with emotional beats, but lately, the big, sweeping adventures have started to feel more gimmicky than anything else.

When they only have eighteen hours to work with every season, it would behoove them to return to emergencies that are still grand (if they so choose) but perhaps a bit more realistic.

Those emergencies based on real events were some of the strangest cases, but knowing that they really happened lent them an extra layer of emotional weight that has become 9-1-1’s bread and butter.

The more realistic the emergency, the more invested the audience is; thus, the stakes feel more real. There’s a level of buy-in that you won’t achieve by throwing the silliest things at the wall and seeing what sticks.

But on the flip side of the realism rainbow, Ryan Murphy’s shows are notorious for pushing the envelope and thinking outside the box, making them some of the most popular shows on television.

There’s always something to be said for bizarre and outrageous emergencies that don’t make all the sense in the world but are fun enough that you don’t particularly care whether or not every little detail makes sense.

9-1-1 was just renewed for a ninth season, so it’s clearly doing something right.

Plus, at this point in television history, plenty of procedurals are out there to scratch that itch if you’re looking for emergencies that are more run-of-the-mill, less about shock factor, and more about realism.

Those are much more the norm than what 9-1-1 does, which again, makes it stand out amongst a crowded landscape.

It’s not an easily answered question because both arguments have pros and cons, and it may be more a matter of personal preference than anything else.

What do you guys think about the state of 9-1-1 emergencies?

Should they keep going bigger and bolder?

Or is it time to scale things back?

Let me know in the comments how you’re feeling about this buzzy topic so we can discuss it!

You can watch 9-1-1 on ABC at 8/7c on Thursdays.

Watch 9-1-1 Online

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.