9-1-1: Nashville's Se7en-Inspired Storyline Breathes New Life Into The Franchise

Published Oct 22, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT

Misty Layne started as an actor and sketch comedy writer before deciding to concentrate mainly on writing. Utilizing both her love of television and film and her behind-the-scenes knowledge, she began a website reviewing films in 2013, with a focus on horror and indie media. Eventually, she began writing about all things television and film for other sites as well. Misty shares a home with five cats, a ton of books, and a fairly impressive vinyl collection.
 

9-1-1: Nashville returned with its season 2 premiere last week, which included the fallout of everything that happened during its first season with Don, Blythe, and Dixie. Blythe and Dixie are taking a court-ordered anger management course together after that epic catfight that ended season 1 (and hopefully ended the potential cheating plot between Dixie and Don for good), and Don and Blythe are going through a “bed divorce.” The show didn’t get to most of the fallout for a while, though, as it focused on introducing its darker Se7en-inspired storyline and a brand-new character.

Ryan Phillippe joins the 9-1-1: Nashville cast this season as Detective Rogue Kelly (a name which leads to the funniest exchange in the first episode — “Is his name really Rogue?”/“Is your name really Blue?”), a recent transplant from New York, who’s a bit famous for a case he solved back home. He just wants to be left alone to do his job, and Nashville has presented him with a doozy of a first case, as a serial killer seems to be in town.

The storyline presented in the premiere looks like it will be a continuing one, possibly throughout the entire season. With that, and the appearance of Detective Kelly, this season of 9-1-1: Nashville appears to be a breath of fresh air for the 9-1-1 franchise, drawing on one of the greatest thriller movies ever made.

The Darker Nature Is Rarely Seen In The Franchise And Recalls An Original 9-1-1 Plot

Image via ABC

Every show in the 9-1-1 franchise deals with wild emergencies all the time — like a volcano beneath the streets of Los Angeles or chaos caused by hackers taking over a city’s emergency systems. However, it’s rarer for an emergency to show up that’s legitimately serious. 9-1-1 prefers to stay in the lane of melodrama, and fans love that.

Every once in a while, though, a storyline comes along that’s a bit heavier — like when Maddie’s abusive ex returned — which truly raises the stakes for our favorite characters and engages viewers more than usual. The storyline that began evolving in the 9-1-1: Nashville premiere about a serial killer using biblical plagues to murder their victims is about as dark as the franchise has gotten (even if it did involve murderous hornets). Possibly the only comparable storyline is when 9-1-1 had Athena dealing with the serial rapist in season 8.

Teasers for episode 2 of 9-1-1: Nashville season 2 make it look like the serial killer is going to start going after first responders, putting the team (and possibly their loved ones) in direct danger. In a move reminiscent of the movie Se7en, where the killer murders people in ways inspired by the seven deadly sins, the perpetrator in 9-1-1: Nashville is using methods based on the plagues from the Book of Exodus to achieve their murderous goals.

Eight more plagues remain, so this season is going to get tense (though let's hope the ending of this storyline isn't as horrifying as the end of David Fincher's thriller, as great as that was). On the plus side, this likely means audiences will see more of the ensemble cast, who were underrepresented in season 1 because of the emphasis on the Hart family.

Image via ABC

As fun as a storyline that veers more into Criminal Minds territory will be, the addition of Ryan Phillippe promises to be even better. While a law enforcement element is 9-1-1 tradition at this point, and it's probably too obvious to make him the killer, Rogue Kelly's appearance at the same time this all begins is highly suspicious. His reticence about why he left New York doesn’t make him any less suspicious, and the way he almost immediately starts stirring up trouble in Don’s family only makes him sketchier.

Despite the questions lingering around him right now, though, he’s clearly a good foil for Don. Don is supposed to represent that genteel Southern charm, while Rogue introduces a brusque bluntness that immediately clashes. Don has so far been the “man of the house,” so to speak — both in his family and his work family — and Rogue starts calling that into question by pointing out that he and Blythe are separated and by becoming friendly with Ryan.

It creates an interesting clash on several levels, but it could ultimately be good for Don to have someone he works with challenge him. Additionally, Detective Rogue Kelly brings some new life to a show that was far too focused on a few characters rather than the ensemble. That, along with the serial killer storyline, could help 9-1-1: Nashville season 2 avoid the sophomore slump and make it better than the first.

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  Chris O'Donnell

  Captain Don Sharpe

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  Jessica Capshaw

  Blythe Ward