The ninth season of 9-1-1 sees Elijah M. Cooper promoted to series regular status as Harry Grant, giving him a bigger role in the beloved first responder drama and ensuring that the younger generation has a main character to relate to. I recently spoke with the actor about the importance of diversity on network TV, this season’s first two episodes, Harry’s grief, the 118 family, growing with his character into adulthood, and more.
Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear reimagine the procedural drama with “9-1-1.” The series explores the high-pressure experiences of first responders — including police officers, firefighters and dispatchers — who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping conditions. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives. The show draws from the real lives of first responders who regularly face situations that are often unpredictable, intense and uplifting at the same time.
“I think 9-1-1 really well encompasses diversity, right? I feel like 9-1-1 reflects the world, and it’s not just about race or gender in the cast, now, it’s also about age. ABC especially does such an amazing job of making sure their casts are diverse and reflect what we see all around us,” Cooper shared. “I think especially with Harry being added to the cast, it brings this new, fresh perspective on what it means to be a young person becoming in the world, what it means to find yourself, with Harry now dropping out of high school and trying to kind of find his own path, right? This is what a lot of people go through, and I think that it’s really special that the show is able to have so many touch points, so I’m really excited about the journey of Harry in season nine.”
Harry, like all of the other characters, is currently dealing with the death of Bobby Nash and trying to process his grief. “He’s having a real manifestation of just anxiety all around him, and because of that, he’s looking for something to grip onto that is controllable,” the actor explained of how Harry is handling the sudden loss of his stepfather. “He’s constantly worried about other people, and I think Harry just wants to take a breath. He just wants to be able to calm down, zen out for a second, right? I think that’s manifesting also into anger with him, and it allows him to make some slick comments like the ones that he’s making now, right, but it’s a call for help. It really is. He is in pain. He’s hurt by seeing all these people around him disappear, and I think he’s just looking for a sense of normalcy, a sense of calm, a sense of just being able to, as I said, take a breath and take a second.”
“But I think that the really cool thing about this whole storyline, too, is this is so reflective of the world. This is so reflective of how people experience grief, and especially in myself, too, I’ve had my own struggles with anxiety and just trying to figure out, like, how do I put some type of control over this situation to feel okay? And so, in that way, I think a lot of people can relate to that and see that he’s not even trying to be mean about it, even though he may make some comments that come out of anger, he’s just trying to say, like, please give me a second.”
Watch my full interview below:
New episodes of 9-1-1 air Thursdays at 8 PM ET on ABC.
