The Real Reason 9-1-1 Star Oliver Stark Was Apprehensive About Buck’s Season 9 Finale
Oliver Stark wasn’t sold at first on Buck’s jaw-dropping 9-1-1 season 9 finale twist — in the May 7 episode Hearts and Flowers, Buck signs papers making him the legal guardian of a 4-year-old.
9-1-1 ended its ninth season by dropping a life-altering plot twist on Buck, and honestly, I did not have this one on my bingo card. Mild understatement: he didn’t either.
Spoilers ahead for the season 9 finale.
The twist
In the final moments of the Thursday, May 7 episode, 'Hearts and Flowers,' we learn Buck signed papers making him the legal guardian of Theo — a 4-year-old whose parents, a couple who used Buck as a sperm donor, died in a tragic accident. That’s not a small character pivot; that’s a whole new life.
Oliver Stark’s first reaction: not sold
Oliver Stark, 34, told Us Weekly he needed convincing when showrunner Tim Minear phoned with the plan.
"I was pretty apprehensive. That’s a pretty big change. Like, that’s huge. This doesn’t mean that all of my scenes are going to be just about this, right?"
Minear apparently eased the panic by framing it as a story engine, not a bubble. Translation: Buck learning how to be a parent ties him deeper into the rest of the ensemble — especially his best friend Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman, 38), who’s already doing the single-dad thing with Christopher (Gavin McHugh).
What flipped Stark from wary to all-in
Two reasons. First, the on-set reality: Theo is played by twins Lincoln and Theodore Sykes, and Stark lit up talking about them. He says working with the kids basically unlocked the storyline for him and made him excited about wherever this goes next.
Second, the character fit: Buck has been racking up actual growth this season. Earlier on, he wrestled with feeling older — and by the end of that episode, he made peace with it. That willingness to accept change, Stark thinks, is exactly why Buck’s ready to step into something as massive as guardianship.
Where this points in season 10
Buck’s about to juggle more responsibility and, per Stark, he’ll have to lean hard on the people around him who know the terrain — again, Eddie is front and center there. Theo also mirrors Buck in some ways, which Stark likes; kids have a way of reflecting your own stuff back at you, and the show plans to interrogate the practical questions too: why Buck is the one stepping up, and who else is — or isn’t — in Theo’s life. Expect the series to actually unpack that, not gloss it.
About that opioid storyline
If you’re worried this surprise guardianship will trigger Buck’s pill addiction from earlier this season, Stark doesn’t see that being an ongoing threat right now. He connects Buck’s misuse to the physical pain that started it, and he values that the arc showed both how fast dependency can creep in and how crucial it is to get help quickly. He doesn’t expect the show to keep revisiting it as a recurring issue for Buck at the moment, though obviously there are lines the character will need to avoid.
Process notes from the set
Stark is proud of the addiction arc and says he didn’t even know where it was headed while shooting. Case in point: during the Buck-and-Eddie road trip home from Nashville — just two episodes before the dependency surfaced — he still didn’t have the endpoint. He took it episode by episode, crediting Tim Minear for handing him 'big meals' to chew on this year.
The road trip detour that worked
Speaking of that highway misadventure: Stark loved it. Different look, different pace, and it shook up 9-1-1’s usual rhythm in a good way. He and Guzman were proud of how it came together.
The bottom line
Buck becoming Theo’s guardian is a massive swing, but it doesn’t silo him — it widens the show’s emotional map, especially with Eddie in the mix. Stark was nervous at first, then the kid performances and Buck’s season-long growth sold him. Now he’s eager to see the show pick apart the logistics and the 'why' behind it, not just the feels.