‘9-1-1’ Episode 15 Hits Season High with 8.5 Million Viewers

The popular ABC show 9-1-1 had a huge spike in viewers after the dramatic death of a main character in Episode 15 of Season 8. The episode drew a total of 8.45 million viewers across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+, and other digital platforms.

That makes it the most-streamed episode since the season premiere, according to Nielsen’s live-plus-seven-day ratings.

In the April 17 episode, fans watched the unexpected death of Bobby Nash, played by Peter Krause. It was a big moment that got fans talking online. The show has never killed off a main character before, so this twist was a major shock.

The episode brought in a 1.74 rating among adults aged 18-49, which is a big jump from the previous episode’s 1.57 rating. That’s an 11% increase in ratings. It also saw a small 2% rise in total viewers from Episode 14, which had 8.43 million viewers.

On ABC alone, the episode had 5.64 million viewers, a 48% jump from the live broadcast’s original count of 3.81 million. The rating also grew 56%, going from 0.36 to 0.56.

Streaming numbers were especially strong. This was the biggest streaming audience 9-1-1 has seen since the season premiere in September, across both Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

Tim Minear, the show’s creator, explained why they made such a bold move: “Bobby is the most impactful character to kill … it made sense on every level,” Minear told TheWrap.
“The show needed a major character death for the audience to feel that there were real stakes in any of these cases.”

He added that going into Season 9, this death will raise the tension: “Next season, when our characters are in a precarious situation, you might be gripping the arms of your chair a little bit tighter.”

Episode 16 airs this week and will show the team coming together to mourn Bobby. Season 8 of 9-1-1 will end with Episode 18, which airs on May 15.

The show continues to air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, and is available to stream the next day on Hulu.

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