Reviewing "9-1-1: Nashville" Following Their Series-Opening Arc

I have really enjoyed the 9-1-1 franchise for nearly a decade now, and of course, I got into this because I've been a Ryan Murphy fan ever since Nip/Tuck. It's hard to believe that the original series is in its ninth season, having premiered during the heart of the 2017-18 TV season; originally on Fox before making the move to ABC during Season Seven. The original series takes place in Los Angeles, while the first spinoff, 9-1-1: Lone Star, took place in Texas, and just recently ended its run.

I remember learning about the new spinoff, 9-1-1: Nashville, and I was beaming. Another addition to this franchise? Sign me up! I really loved the cast of this series, and was really looking forward to this. My first thought was my overall excitement for this series. Actually, that's not true. My real first thought was, "Will the Predators be referenced?" Hey, I'm not only a hockey fan, I'm a Central Division guy, and if a show is going to take place in the home of one of the Avs' rivals, I want to see some references.

The series premiered on ABC on October 9, 2025, and kicked things of with a three-episode arc; which is commonplace in the franchise. So let's talk about the cast, shall we?

The lead in this spinoff is, to my pleasant surprise, Chris O'Donnell, who portrays Captain Don Hart, a veteran firefighter who leads the 113 Nashville. When I watched this, I thought, "Chris O'Donnell's come a long way since Batman Forever." I still have yet to see that movie, but I remember seeing trailers, and that's when I first heard that name. O'Donnell played Robin in that movie, which starred the late, great Val Kilmer as Batman, and boasted a cast that also included Tommy Lee Jones, Nicole Kidman, and Jim Carrey. That movie was 30 years ago! I remember watching the ads like it was yesterday. I also remember watching O'Donnell in this film called, The Bachelor, which co-starred Renee Zellweger.

This is O'Donnell's first regular series since NCIS: Los Angeles ended; a series that O'Donnell co-starred with LL Cool J.

A character who stole the pilot episode was Blue Bennings, played with gentlemanly charm by Hunter McVey. Blue was introduced as an exotic dancer who ends up joining the 113 after helping a crashed party bike. The scene sees Don and his son, Ryan Hart, at the scene, and that's when Don drops the bombshell: Blue is also Don's son, as well as Ryan's half-brother. Oh man. The previews reveal that anyway, but still, it makes for a hell of a development.

The cast also includes Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Cammie Raleigh, who is Don's widowed sister-in-law, and serves as the Maddie Buckley of the show. It's fitting that I mention that, because KWP actually appeared in episode 9.03 of 9-1-1 in a crossover moment. KWP really is no stranger to Nashville; she resides there with her country singer husband, Brad Paisley, and their two children. After watching the arc, I finally watched the classic film, Father of the Bride, and its sequel, with both of them featuring KWP in her breakout role as Annie Banks, working alongside icons Steve Martin and the recently late and forever great Diane Keaton. KWP is best known for being part of the cast of the ABC sitcom According to Jim, and we Hallmark Mystery fans know her for the Darrow and Darrow films.

But let's get to the cast members I really want to discuss:

The main cast also happens to include Jessica Capshaw (of Grey's Anatomy fame) and country singer/actress (and Masked Singer winner) LeAnn Rimes. Capshaw portrays Blythe Hart, who is Don's wife and Ryan's mother, while Rimes portrays Dixie Bennings, an ex of Don's who is also Blue's mother. Regarding that series opening twist, it's revealed that Don and Dixie did hook up once when he and Blythe were separated, and once is all it takes to get one past the goalie. As also revealed, Dixie was quite bitter when Don went back to Blythe, and when Blue was born, she intentionally kept him and Don separate--until the pilot's events, and only because she wanted two things: payback, and money to pay for Dixie's polyps surgery.

Regarding Blythe, she knew all this time, and one thing I do like is that she holds no ill will towards Blue. I do like that. I also love that this is the closest that LeAnn Rimes has come to playing a villainess. It's clear that Dixie's the heel in this bitter tit-for-tat between herself and Blythe, and the way they've been going at each other has been delicious. However, it does expose a trend that I just recently noticed: they sure love portraying women connected to the same man as enemies.

It hit me as I watched it, and there are a number of examples. The UPN sitcom Half & Half; Telma Hopkins and Valarie Pettiford (despite being real life BFFs) portraying mothers of half-sisters from the same man, and the mothers are always at each other's throats. Empire had Cookie and Anika always going at it, but the first example I noticed was the Archie comics. They're all friends, but let's face it, the rivalry between Betty and Veronica over Archie is more heated than the rivalry between Archie and Reggie over Veronica.

Regarding the series-opening arc, they couldn't resist having an actual country singer make a cameo, and it was Kane Brown appearing. Speaking of country singers, I just want to make two points about LeAnn Rimes. One, it takes hella talent to play a country singer who can't sing, because Rimes is one of the best in real life, which leads me to my second thought. I couldn't help but beam over the fact that Dixie's son is named Blue. Blue was Rimes' earliest hit song; I still remember watching her perform that song (among others) on the Disney Channel.

Sadly, the show already suffered a tragedy very recently. Isabelle "Izzy" Tate, who appeared in the first episode, suddenly passed away at the tender age of 23. Tate's passing happened on October 19, 2025--ten days after she was shown in the pilot, and it was revealed that she was battling a rare form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which is a neurological disorder that kept her wheelchair bound. Tate appeared as Julie, a young wheelchair bound woman who was at the club where Blue performed as a dancer. Upon seeing Julie being bullied by other women, Blue stepped up and gave Julie a lap dance.

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Already, I love 9-1-1: Nashville, I think it's a welcome addition to the franchise. Ryan Murphy strikes gold yet again, and I'm very amped to see how the rest of the inaugural season turns out!