Sophia Soto
With 9-1-1 about to premiere its tenth season, it was the perfect time for Oliver Stark and Jennifer Love Hewitt to do their first-ever joint interview and look back on how far Buck and Maddie’s relationship has evolved throughout the beloved series.
“When we were shooting last year, the recovery from the drug dependence, there were these times where we’d just be sitting on the couch, and I’d be bundled up, and Jennifer would come and sit next to me. We’d just have a little, like, stay in it for a minute, and I think from the get-go, our relationship has felt close and safe,” Stark commented. “That, to me, is a kind of perfect encapsulation of that relationship that, amongst the chaos of whatever, cameras being moved around, we kind of just sat in that brotherly, sisterly, we’ve got each other kind of environment. And, as I say, we’ve had that from day one, which has been really lovely and made everything feel really easy.”
“I feel like Buck and Maddie probably with their parents were kids that didn’t get to follow their impulses a lot. I mean, they were kids and the parents really were sort of not great. And so, I think that it’s so beautiful and interesting that as adults, they really fight for each other in that way, and that they fully accept each other as they are ‘cause I think they both know that they just need that,” Hewitt expressed. “It’s really nice.”
By the end of season nine, Buck is stepping up to take Theo in. One of the most special moments of that storyline so far is when Maddie goes to the hospital to be by her brother’s side right after the deaths of Connor and Kameron, Theo’s parents.
“I think that scene, we find Buck in a very unmoored place, right? He’s kind of in this headspace where he doesn’t, or can’t yet quite process anything that’s just happened. He doesn’t know what the future’s gonna hold. He just knows that something horrific has happened and he doesn’t really know almost how to put one step in front of the other there,” Stark explained. “Maddie being there is always gonna be a kind of grounding force for him and help settle him down, and he’s able to get up, they drift over, they look at Theo sat on the hospital bed, and they have a small little conversation. I just can’t imagine Buck getting himself together, and pulling himself together in that moment, if it wasn’t for Maddie’s presence. She’s always gonna be that kind of calming spirit in his life. So, yeah, I think hugely important that she was there for that moment, and I don’t know what it would have been had it not been for her character.”
“We do have some fun scenes [in the upcoming season]. I think that it’s — ‘cause remember when we talked last time, I was like, I really don’t know who she’s gonna be like as an aunt or what [she’s going to do], and still, even still, I don’t know that we fully, really know how Maddie feels about Theo being totally honest. I don’t know that she has shared that yet,” Hewitt previewed. “But I feel like we are definitely getting, this season so far, for us, really good support. I’m there for him, he’s being open and sharing with me, and I think that people will be happy that we are being good. We’re being good siblings so far.”
Watch Awards Radar’s exclusive video interview with the actors below, where we discuss their most significant moments and what’s next for the Buckley siblings.
9-1-1 returns on October 15 at 8 PM ET, with new episodes continuing to air Thursdays on ABC and streaming on Hulu.
The have the most beautiful sibling relationship. I hope we get tge brother and sister supporting each through it all.
Love the Buckley siblings!!