The next 9-1-1 spinoff has found its first cast member. NCIS: Los Angeles alum Chris O’Donnell has been tapped for a leading role in the forthcoming spinoff series 9-1-1: Nashville.
According to Variety, O’Donnell will star as Captain Don Sharpe, “a rugged fire captain and rodeo rider who runs Nashville’s busiest firehouse with his beloved son. Don’s a devoted husband and family man but he has his secrets.” 9-1-1: Nashville will mark the actor’s second starring role in a procedural spinoff after the aforementioned NCIS: Los Angeles, which was a spinoff of the still-airing NCIS. O’Donnell’s other notable credits include playing Dick Grayson/Robin in the DC movies Batman Forever and Batman & Robin and D’Artagnan in 1993’s The Three Musketeers.
Announced in February 2025, 9-1-1: Nashville is targeting a debut during the 2025-2026 broadcast season on ABC. While exact plot details remain scarce, the upcoming spinoff will follow the lives of first responders in the titular Tennessee city. When word first broke back in October that ABC was eyeing an extension of the 9-1-1 franchise, Las Vegas and Hawaii were floated as possible settings. Nashville ultimately emerged as the winner, in part because of a tax credit that was offered to shoot the show in Tennessee.
Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, the original 9-1-1 series follows the lives of first responders (police officers, paramedics, firefighters, and dispatchers) in Los Angeles. After originally premiering on Fox in 2018, the series moved to ABC for Season 7 in 2024. 9-1-1 is headlined by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actor Angela Bassett and Parenthood alum Peter Krause, who star as wife-and-husband duo Athena Grant-Nash, an LAPD patrol sergeant, and Bobby Nash, an LAFD station caption, respectively. Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Ryan Guzman also star as series regulars.
It remains to be seen if ABC will plan a crossover episode for 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Nashville. When 9-1-1 was still on Fox, the show occasionally crossed over with its first spinoff, 9-1-1: Lone Star, which was also created by Murphy, Falchuk, and Minear. Rob Lowe led the cast of Lone Star as a sophisticated New York firefighter who, after relocating from Manhattan, New York to Austin, Texas, must try to balance the duties of saving those who are at their most vulnerable and solving the problems in his own life. The series, which also starred Ronen Rubinstein, Sierra McClain, Jim Parrack, Natacha Karam, Brian Michael Smith, Rafael L. Silva, Julian Works, Gina Torres, Brianna Baker, Kelsey Yates, Skyler Yates, and Jackson Pace, ended its run after five seasons in February 2025.
The door is also open for 9-1-1: Nashville to crossover with another ABC drama. 9-1-1 is set to crossover with the Murphy-created medical drama series Doctor Odyssey on March 20 with an episode that sees Athena Grant suspecting that two passengers are targeting the ship’s vault during a Casino Week cruise. 9-1-1 star Oliver Stark has also pitched a fun idea for a crossover with The Rookie, which is also set in Los Angeles.
9-1-1: Nashville is expected to premiere on ABC during the 2025-26 broadcast season.