"FOX probably couldn't afford": 9-1-1 fans baffled as season 7 set to move to ABC

9-1-1 is changing home. According to reports, the procedural TV series, which resided on Fox across six seasons, will shift base to ABC. The show is in its sixth season, having aired the 16th episode on Monday, May 1, 2023. Titled Lost & Found, it was helmed and written by Brenna Malloy and Lyndsey Beaulieu, respectively.

The season 6 finale and 18th episode is tentatively titled Pay It Forward, slated to air on May 15. Fox canceling the show only for ABC to take it up has baffled its fans, who wonder if the former channel can’t afford its highest-rated scripted program any longer.

Interestingly, the 9-1-1 spin-off, 911: Lone Star, will remain on Fox, having recently renewed for a fifth season, around the time the network canceled the mother show.

Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, 9-1-1 deals with the first responders: paramedics, police officers, firefighters, and dispatchers. The Los Angeles-based series premiered on January 3, 2018. In May 2022, Fox renewed it for a sixth season.

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9-1-1 fans are happy as long as the show goes on

Since the start, 9-1-1 has been one of the top performers for Fox. Nominated for several awards, the critically acclaimed drama has won several trophies over the years, thanks to its lead star Angela Bassett, who plays LAPD patrol sergeant Athena Grant-Nash.

Despite the success, the TV series stands canceled by the parent channel. Reports suggested it was a “financial decision” since the firm is now planning ways to cut expenses. However, the development gave rise to all sorts of comments, with some highlighting that Fox and ABC are cousin channels since both are Disney-owned.

Feeling “grateful” that they were “the founding network of 911,” Fox wished the “impactful series” the best “after 911’s final Fox season concludes.”

Meanwhile, Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich termed the police drama as “one of the most defining and original dramas on network television” and commented:

“It’s a privilege to keep 911 in the family with 20th Television producing, and we look forward to telling more heart-racing and uplifting stories about these beloved characters on our air.”

Apart from Bassett, 9-1-1 stars Peter Krause as LAFD Station 118 Captain Robert “Bobby” Nash, Oliver Stark as firefighter Evan “Buck” Buckley, Jennifer Love Hewitt as 911 operator Maddie Buckley, and Ryan Guzman as firefighter-paramedic Edmundo “Eddie” Díaz, among others.

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Episode 17 of 9-1-1 season 6, Love Is In The Air, will hit Fox on May 8, 2023.