See How ‘9-1-1’ Brought Season 6 Premiere Blimp Disaster to Life

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It’s a bird, it’s a plane — it’s an emergency! Season 6 of the audacious first-responder drama opens in the unfriendly skies, with Firehouse 118 racing to stop a Hindenburg-level disaster at an L.A. stadium.

“There’s something iconic about a blimp flying over a sporting event,” says exec producer Kristen Reidel. “But what if the blimp flew into a sporting event? Now that’s 9-1-1.”

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We can’t spoil the twist as the out-of-control blimp approaches a Women’s International Soccer match, but co-executive producer Jann Turner, who directs the episode, teases that firefighters Chimney (Kenneth Choi), Eddie (Ryan Guzman), and Buck (Oliver Stark) “scale dizzying heights” to reach the trapped captains. Meanwhile, on the ground, “a stampede has left chaos” for LAPD boss Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) to manage.

Turner’s team used storyboards (below) to plan how they’d bring the nail-biting sequence to life. Parts of a blimp were created to function as the set on location. And about 100 extras were enlisted. With visual effects magic, it’ll look like thousands are in jeopardy.

The airship sails high above scenic Los Angeles (Courtesy of Fox)

A propellor engine sparks, then catches fire (Courtesy of Fox)

Uh-oh! The two captains share a look (Courtesy of Fox)

With the steering gone, the blimp drifts… (Courtesy of Fox)

…and the crowd understandably goes wild (Courtesy of Fox)

9-1-1, Season 6 Premiere, Monday, September 19, 8/7c, Fox

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2022 Returning Favorites issue. For more first looks at fall’s returning shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.