Critic Reviews

Season 6 is already like an immense step up from Season 5, which felt disjointed at times.

A series about 911 responders comes with built-in advantages in the drama department. Even so, there’s no missing the exceptional depth of detail, the emotional range and enterprise that undergird standard events—trying, for instance, to breathe life back into a swimmer knocked unconscious—and make them affecting.

The ABC procedural has a lot going on its first hour back from the 2025 summer hiatus. Yet, "Eat the Rich" doesn't feel convoluted or crammed. It features action-packed moments that are used to establish Chimney as a worthy successor of Bobby while also addressing the changing dynamics in the firehouse. .... Athena's arc in 9-1-1 season 9 is specifically interesting.

A fast paced, action packed show with a great cast, this new show has a lot of potential.

This is adrenaline-rush TV. It’s instantly compelling, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and a pretty solid way to start 2018.

The show’s impressive, all-star cast makes all the difference here. At least in the pilot, the actors elevate the premise from a suspenseful, action show to an engrossing drama, while the influence of seasoned veterans Murphy and Falchuck lends 9-1-1 the gravitas it needs to rise above TV’s cabal of conflicted police officers and harried paramedics.

Ultimately, 9-1-1 may be a too-predictable and unremitting show, but when it takes off, it's quite the ride.

A surprisingly engaging procedural drama. 9-1-1 brings to mind early “ER.”

This show hums when focused on the incidents and accidents that force people to call for help but falters when it then tries to take us into the personal lives of the responders.

The content is no more or less heightened or graphic than you've seen in dozens of procedurals, the resolutions no more or less creative, the characters no more or less nuanced. The nuances are perfunctory, but they're there, and you can see how the combination of decent characters, a somewhat relaxed ensemble work schedule, a straight-to-series order and Ryan Murphy on the phone would get the big names to express curiosity.