Fox just disconnected its “9-1-1″ call, canceling the procedural drama after six seasons. But fans need not despair — ABC has come to the rescue.
“9-1-1″ is moving to ABC for Season 7, while spinoff series “9-1-1: Lone Star” will remain on Fox, where it’s been renewed for Season 5, per Hollywood Reporter.
“It has been an honor to be the founding network of ‘9-1-1′ and we are grateful to [producers] Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, together with [cast members] Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Ryan Guzman and the rest of the cast and crew, and 20th Television for delivering such an impactful series to Fox,” Fox said in a statement on Monday. “We wish them well after ‘9-1-1′s’ final Fox season concludes.”
The decision to let go of broadcast TV’s top drama among 18-to-49 viewers came down to dollar signs. Now that the studio 20th Television is a Disney property and not under the same corporate umbrella as Fox, the network has been paying a licensing fee of more than $9 million per episode, according to THR’s sources. “Lone Star” is cheaper to license, at $6 million to $7 million per episode, the magazine adds.
Deadline predicted in March that ‘9-1-1′ might jump to ABC, citing the show’s high licensing cost. The site also noted that “9-1-1″ would then take a timeslot away from a current ABC series. (The hour–long ABC shows “Alaska Daily,” “The Company You Keep,” and “The Rookie: Feds” have yet to be renewed and therefore might be in danger.)
In a statement, Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, raved about the new addition to ABC’s lineup, hailing “9-1-1″ as “one of the most defining and original dramas on network television over the last six seasons” and saying that Disney is “honored to bring it to the esteemed group of series on ABC.”
He added: “It’s a privilege to keep ‘9-1-1′ in the family with 20th Television producing, and we look forward to telling more heart-racing and uplifting stories about these beloved characters on our air.”