Rashad Raisani reveals whether someone died after that season 1 finale fight, which romances are still going strong, and a biblically evil villain for season 2.

9-1-1: Nashville boss previews Ryan Phillippe’s pivotal season 2 role — and possible ‘Lone Star’ crossover? (exclusive)

Rashad Raisani reveals whether someone died after that season 1 finale fight, which romances are still going strong, and a biblically evil villain for season 2.

By Patrick Gomez

Patrick Gomez

Patrick Gomez is an Executive Editor at . Formerly at People magazine and The A.V. Club, the Critics Choice and Television Critics Association member has appeared on ‘Today,’ ‘Extra!,’ ‘Access Hollywood,’ ‘E! News,’ ‘CNN,’ and ‘Nightline,’ and can be seen frequently on ‘Good Morning America.’ Follow the Texas Native at @PatrickGomezLA wherever your media is social for all things ‘For All Mankind’ ‘Top Chef,’ and puppy related.

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September 16, 2026 1:00 p.m. ET

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Chris O’Donnell in ‘9-1-1: Nashville’ season 2. Credit:

Disney/Jake Giles Netter

- *9-1-1: Nashville* showrunner Rashad Raisani reveals if Dixie or Blythe died after their intense season 1 finale fight.

- The writer previews season 2, including Ryan Phillippe’s new fish-out-of-water role.

- Raisani teases what’s to come for the rest of the cast — and if we are getting more *9-1-1* universe crossovers.

*9-1-1: Nashville* fans were treated to a remote-throwing worthy cut to black when the ABC drama concluded its first season right in the middle of what the show’s team now refers to as “Battle of the Blondes.”

The tension between Dixie (LeAnn Rimes) and Blythe (Jessica Capshaw) had been building all season, culminating in a surprisingly physical altercation in the season 1 finale. But with the cut to black, viewers were left wondering if there will be one less blonde when the first-responder drama returns for season 2.

“The spoiler alert is nobody died,” showrunner Rahsad Raisani tells **. “People were arrested, but nobody died.”

In many ways, a series regular *not* leaving the *9-1-1* franchise after a first season is more shocking, given the respective season 1 exits of *9-1-1*’s Connie Britton and *9-1-1: Lone Star*’s Liv Tyler.

“I felt pretty strongly that I wanted to build it,” Raisani says of the cast. And he’s fulfilling his promise. Instead of losing Rimes or Capshaw, season 2 brings a major addition: Ryan Phillippe, joining as a former NYPD homicide detective named Rogue.

Ryan Phillippe in ‘9-1-1: Nashville’ season 2.

Disney/Connie Chornuk

“He’s a real driver of a lot of our action,” Raisani says of the new series regular, “and also our police side of the show. What [Angela Bassett’s] Athena does for *9-1-1* is what we really are looking for Ryan to bring to our show, though with a much different energy and a much different vibe. The character is very East Coast. He talks very fast, he’s got a bit of a blunt energy to him, and he’s dealing with this Southern politeness — and we have some fun with that.”

Det. Rogue is also “a little bit famous because he solved this kind of Zodiac-style killer case in New York, which became a very popular podcast, and he’s sort of the star of it,” Raisani continues. “He’s a very attention-averse kind of guy. He just wants to be left alone and do his thing.” (Also, that case he solved “wasn’t as clean and buttoned up as it seemed,” the showrunner teases.)

“Ryan’s character came to Nashville to change gears and slow down from New York and enjoy a city with a lower crime rate and [that’s] a little more chill,” Raisani says. “And suddenly he’s embroiled in what will become the biggest case and the most dangerous case of his career” as his new hometown comes under attack from a mysterious criminal staging “apocalyptic kind of attacks on the city that mimic the plagues of the Bible.”

But back to the “Battle of the Blondes,” Rasani reveals that season 2 picks up three weeks after Dixie and Blythe’s fight.

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“They both realize that this triangle with Don [played by Chris O’Donnell] is pretty toxic and pretty destructive,” Raisani says. “That includes Don too. They all kind of go, ‘You know what? We’re ready to now move on.’”

With Blythe now owning her own record label — and Dixie’s recording contract — expect a very different dynamic between them: “I think we’ll be more interested in playing more of a frenemy arc,” Raisani says,

As for Sam’s (MacKenzie Porter) health cliffhanger, Raisani confirms the doctor is indeed battling ovarian cancer during her already-high-risk pregnancy.

“They’re still very fresh in this,” Raisani says of Sam and her firefighter husband, Ryan (Michael Provost). “It’s gonna be a tension for the first couple episodes: How do we tell people? Because the good news of the pregnancy is so intermingled with the very scary news of the cancer.”

The treatment options are “also extra complicated because of some laws in Tennessee, and in many states in America,” Raisani says. “To get that kind of care, you might have to go out of state, and that means Ryan has to decide: Am I gonna step away from the firehouse?”

Ryan (Michael Provost), Roxie (Juani Feliz), Don (Chris O’Donnell), Taylor (Hailey Kilgore), and Blue (Hunter McVey) in ‘9-1-1: Nashville’ season 2.

Disney/Jake Giles Netter

Blue Bennings (Hunter McVey), meanwhile, is stepping into himself.

“I think we’ll see Blue being more of a grown-up in many ways,” Raisani says of the newbie firefighter. “He’s no longer just a mama’s boy, and he’s growing into his ability as a firefighter, and his confidence as Don’s son and Ryan’s brother. He really feels like he has earned and owned his place in his family. He’s no longer just the new kid.”

Don’t expect the calm to last, though. “He’ll have some stability for a minute before we start shaking him up,” says Raisani, alluding to something happening between Blue and his girlfriend and firehousemate Taylor (Hailey Kilgore) after “the first couple episodes.”

Roxie Alba (Juani Feliz) is still dating beauty influencer Elena (Anna Akana), but Raisani says this season will also allow the firefighter to “continue to flex her muscles as a leader.” Expect the show to dig further into her identity, too. “One thing we just brushed upon ever so gently last year was talking about her roots — being Latin, and from New York, and how, in some ways, she’s both very tied to and very proud of her culture, but also disconnected from it,” Raisani says. “We wanna show her look into her past about who she is and what her identity is.”

Raisani also teases that Cammie’s (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) relationship with FBI agent Nick Turner (Coby Bell) “is gonna hopefully continue to progress, and we’ll see where that goes.”

But the 9-1-1 dispatcher will also “become the focal point” of the season’s villain, Raisani reveals: “He starts to call 9-1-1, and he starts to establish a relationship with Cammie, and starts to threaten her and play psychological games. She’s gonna be tormented by this. And she’s gonna be instrumental in trying to help the authorities catch him.”

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A separate, later arc will bring Cammie what Raisani calls “the boss from hell” — though he stops himself from saying more. (“I was told maybe to hold back on talking about that for right now.”)

As for guest stars, fans can expect more country artist cameos. (“Dixie’s gonna have a tour date at the Grand Ole Opry — at the Ryman — which is the mother church of country music,” Raisani says. “And we’re making a big deal for somebody to have a big guest appearance in episode 4.”) But also *9-1-1*’s Buck (Oliver Stark) will pop in via FaceTime in episode 2.

And could we see some *9-1-1: Lone Star* characters show up later in the season? Raisani, who also served as showrunner of the former spinoff, admits he has been brainstorming ways that *Nashville* characters could have connections to *Lone Star* favorites...so fans can keep their fingers crossed.

*9-1-1: Nashville* returns Thursday, Oct. 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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Source: “EW Drama”