911 fans have questions about whether Buck was confirmed to be gay in Season 7, which the series' showrunner addressed.
Oliver Stark's Evan "Buck" Buckley is well known for his sexual endeavors through the series' first six seasons, having one-night stands with various women and often getting himself in trouble.
For a few seasons, his longest relationship was with reporter Taylor Kelly, but after Buck kisses another woman and Taylor runs a news story behind his back, they break up amicably in Season 5.
[ Full Cast of 911 Season 7 Show - Every Main Character & Actor Who Appears (Photos) ]
911 Showrunner Addresses Buck Possibly Being Gay
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for 911 Season 7, Episode 4.
911 Season 7, Episode 3 saw Lou Ferrigno Jr. return as Tommy Kinard, a firefighter who previously served at Station 118. In Episode 4, the show's 100th episode overall, the ending moments saw Evan Buckley share a surprising romantic kiss with Tommy, leading fans to wonder if the series regular was gay.
Speaking with TVLine, showrunner Tim Minear reflected on bringing that kiss to life, having only pitched it to Buck star Oliver Stark a few weeks before shooting.
After the "merry-go-round of different love interests [they have] had for Buck," Minear believed that his storyline "needed a good smack to give it some new life." With Lucy being unable to fly into the hurricane, the idea for Buck and Tommy evolved naturally from there.
The showrunner saw strong chemistry between Buck and Tommy, specifically noting Lou Ferrigno Jr. having "a lot of charisma" as he thought to reach out to both stars about making the plot point happen:
"I felt like the chemistry would be strong between Buck and Tommy. Lou hasn’t been in a ton of the show. He was part of the boys club that persecuted Hen and Chimney at first. But I would watch those brief scenes with Lou, and that smile would happen, and I’d think, 'This guy’s got a lot of charisma.' I really felt like, if he was comfortable doing this story, I should reach out to him."
In the end, the big question remaining on fans' minds is this, is Buck gay after kissing another man?
Stark himself sees Buck as considering himself bisexual, noting that fans will "see flashes of how he might look to label it" over the coming weeks:
"That’s the way I have it in my head. We’ll see flashes of how he might look to label it in the next episode, but yeah, I think that would be the correct term."
Stark explained how this kiss "leads directly into Episode 5" as he expressed his excitement to see it unfold:
“This story is not going away. It leads directly into Episode 5, and I’m excited to delve into it further. I think the most honest way to tell the story of a man in his thirties discovering this for the first time is for him to ask: 'What does this mean for myself? Have I been living a lie? Who am I?' I’m excited for Episode 5, because we get to look into that a little bit more.”
Minear echoed Stark's sentiments about Buck's sexuality, adding that fans will see Buck and Tommy go on "their first date" in an upcoming Season 7 episode, which will help settle things more firmly for their relationship:
"You get to see their first date. And you get to see how that goes a little… aground."
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What Will Happen With Buck in 911?
As teased in Minear and Stark's quotes, fans will see Buck's bond with Tommy grow and evolve as they embrace their first date with one another.
While it appears that Buck is not 100% gay after so many relationships with women in past seasons, seeing him accept that he might be bisexual will be important character development.
Buck is far from the first LGBTQIA+ character in 911 after Rockmond Dunbar's Michael Grant, Aisha Hinds' Hen Wilson, Bryan Safi's Josh Russo, and others shared their true selves starting as early as the pilot episode.
Now, as 911 is confirmed to continue past this year into Season 8 (per Variety), these themes will only continue to be explored more fully through Buck and the rest of the cast.
New episodes of 911 air every Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT before streaming the next day on Hulu.
