Jennifer Love Hewitt to replace Connie Britton in Fox's '9-1-1’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Way back in 2002, John Mayer and Jennifer Love Hewitt were quite the happy couple. A theory persists that Mayer's hit song "Your Body Is A Wonderland" was about the actress, but it's just not true. Mayer composed the song for his 2001 album, "Room For Squares." (Reuters)
Former "Party of Five" and "Time of Your Life" star Jennifer Love Hewitt is returning to Fox as a lead opposite Angela Bassett and Peter Krause in Season 2 of breakout crime drama "9-1-1," from Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear.
Hewitt will play the new character of Maddie, the sister of firefighter Evan Buck Buckley (Oliver Stark), who is starting her life over as a 911 operator. (The announcement was made during Fox’s upfront presentation.)
The introduction of Maddie would help fill the void left by the departure of Connie Britton who played 911 operator Abby Clark in Season 1. Britton had a one-year deal for the show but the producers still hope that she would come back for a few episodes next season to make the transition more seamless. (Britton earlier today was at the NBCUniversal upfront presentation promoting her new Bravo limited series "Dear John").
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"9-1-1" explores the high-pressure experiences of police officers, paramedics and firefighters who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives. Hewitt will join series stars Angela Bassett, Peter Krause. Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi and Rockmond Dunbar.
Connie Britton played 911 operate Abby Clark in Season 1 on the Fox show. Here the star is joined by cast mates Peter Krause and Angela Bassett. (FOX)
The procedural drama has been a huge hit for Fox since its Season 1 midseason launch on January 10. It ranks amongthe seasons top 3 new entertainment series overall among Adults 18-49, and the No. 2 new drama in the same demo. "9-1-1" drew Fox’s largest total multi-platform audience this season, averaging 14.9 million total viewers for the 2017/18 broadcast season, up 137% from its L+SD delivery.
As noted in Fox’s morning upfront call, the series will be moving from its Season 1 Wednesday night slot to Monday nights following a post-football debut on Sunday, September 23. Seth MacFarlane’s "The Orville," which is moving to midseason, also got a big football lead-in boost with its Season 1 premiere before moving to its regular Thursday night slot. It will continue on Thursdays midseason following Thursday Night Football on Fox.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"9-1-1" is produced by 20th Century Fox Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television andBrad Falchuk Teley-Vision.Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear are creators, executive producers and writers on the series.Bradley Buecker is an executive producer and director. Alexis Martin Woodall is an executive producer with Angela Bassett serving as co-executive producer.
Hewitt starred for all six seasons on Fox’s hit "Party of Five" and its spinoff "Time Of Your Life." Her other credits include producing, directing and starring in "The Client List" and "Ghost Whisperer" for CBS. She was most recently a series regular on "Criminal Minds." She’s repped by Gersh, Untitled and attorney Bob Wallerstein.