The first responder and his first boyfriend encountered an unforeseen romantic obstacle in the most recent hour of the eighth season of the ABC procedural drama.
Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) reveals shockingly early in season eight’s “Confessions” episode six that he was once engaged to 9-1-1 dispatcher Abby Clark (Connie Britton). He was unaware at the time that Abby was also Buck’s ex.
Surprisingly, though, their relationship is not being destroyed by their shared history. Buck asks Tommy to move in with him toward the end of the episode, after they notably only had a mini-spiral session about Tommy confessing that he broke Abby’s heart and that she ended up dating a “himbo” half her age after they broke up — he being the male Bimbo.
But when Tommy confides in Buck that he thinks this is his first male relationship since becoming bisexual in the middle of season seven, it quickly degenerates into a tense situation.
Stark tells The Hollywood Reporter, “I think it’s a totally understandable decision, even though Buck ends up as kind of collateral damage.”
In his interview with THR below, the seasoned 911 star discusses Buck’s split, the response of viewers to his character’s recently revealed sexual orientation, and his future plans for the reformed playboy’s romantic life.
As viewers, we were unaware at the end of the previous season whether Captain Nash (played by Peter Krause) would survive the house fire that left him in the hospital or if he would continue to work as a firefighter. Did you all not know what had happened to him?
Early on, when the script was first being presented to us, there was some hesitancy because we had just finished the eighth and final episode, which was entirely focused on Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Pete’s character. There are instances when a character’s farewell may begin with such a focused episode. It would have been disastrous if it had gone that way. Pete Krause, who plays Bobby, is a great leader for us off-screen as well; he truly is our captain. Fortunately, however, we weren’t kept in the dark for very long.
When did you find out that Tommy and Abby had dated before the shocking revelation in season eight?
It wasn’t long before I was reading the script, in typical 911 fashion. Tim [Minear] called during episode three to say, “We’ve walked into this wonderful coincidence because back in season one, we gave Abby a fiancé called Tommy.” We shot this season out of order, so we shot [episode six] as episode four. It wasn’t until season two that Lou’s character was introduced. Coincidentally, they also called him Tommy, and Tim thought it would be foolish not to use this. If you believe in such coincidences, it was a kind of creative coincidence that, I believe, led to a really entertaining revelation between the characters.
While Buck was processing the news, I assumed he would call Abby to discuss the situation and that we might see another appearance by Connie Britton. Was there any discussion of that?
I’m not sure. When she returned in season three, I got the impression that she was saying, “I’ve served my time on 911.” Of course, seeing and working with her again would always be a delight. However, this time, I don’t believe it was necessarily in the cards. There were initially more scenes of Buck spiraling and spinning out a little bit about this and talking to Bobby about it at one point, but they didn’t quite make it into the 42-minute TV episodes that we’re working under.
Buck has now experienced these two major loves. He was able to see the advantages of genuine intimacy thanks to Abby. What changes do you think Tommy’s relationship will bring about?
Buck is a character we’ve seen repeatedly who refuses to stay down, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next. I don’t think he will stop wanting or believing in love, but this is the first time he will be doing so as a person who is aware of his bisexuality when he is ready to reenter the dating world. Additionally, we will have the opportunity to examine some of the unknowns that accompany that for him. For example, how do I approach this? What am I searching for? He won’t be knocked down for very long, and I believe that it will actually lead to some entertaining and thought-provoking questions for him to answer.
What reaction have you received to Tommy and Buck’s real romance, given how fervently fans have embraced the bromance between Eddie and Buck?
It has been incredibly stunning and unexpected. I am well aware that the show has two audiences. A sizable portion of the audience lives in middle America, doesn’t use social media, and has an entirely different relationship with the show than the audience that responds and engages with it. Additionally, I was wary and a little doubtful of how this plot would be received in a more general sense. And to be honest, it’s been really good, and I believe that’s partly because of what we discussed about waiting for the right moment and feeling at ease. We didn’t feel like we threw it in there without thinking.
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