Fox's "9-1-1" Double Feature Is a Broadcast Blast

When it comes to programming broadcast bashing has been in vogue for many years now Repetitive crime dramas archaic threecamera sitcoms and niche singlecamera comedies have made for a bland blend of entertainment fodder that many but not all critics and most but not all awards shows cheerfully condemn or simply overlook Why settle for sausage at the same old local hangout when there is delicious filet mignon waiting at a classier establishment The responses are almost instantaneous The shows on CBS NBC ABC or Fox can39t possibly be as satisfying as those on Netflix Amazon HBO or Hulu RightWrongThe quality suffers by comparison doesn39t itBaloneyBroadcast entertainment with all those inherent restrictions on content from the FCC and the advertising community can39t possibly rise to the level of the best streaming shows and the cream of the cable crop wouldn39t you sayNopeI don39t see very many columns these days that defend broadcast content I think they started to drop away once NBC39s This Is Us began to show its age So consider this a wakeup call or at least a sincere declaration Every Monday night Fox reminds us that broadcast can still compete with the hottest television platforms and can even kick their butts I can39t think of a weekly twohour block of appointment television right now that is more engaging than the network39s 911 combo Separately or together they tick all the boxesThey39re inclusive With their multicultural and multigender casts and characters they are as inclusive inside and out as anything else on television and as grand a platform as I can find for not only celebrating diversity but demonstrating how much richer life can be when all kinds of people mix mingle and have each other39s backsamp160They39re epic The special effects and stunt work in these series rivals that of theatrical action films In fact most episodes of both shows pulse with cinematic goodness The intrepid teams of lifesaving first responders at the center of both have collectively come up against an earthquake a tsunami floods a landslide train wrecks the eruption of a volcano just outside of Austin floods fires explosions horrific accidents of every kind and wildly improbable crises like a bus becoming airborne and crashing through the side of an office building or hundreds of scorpions infesting a food truck or a monstrous tapeworm how should I say exiting its hostThey39re intimate The personal stories of the paramedics police officers and firefighters on these shows are as insightful emotional relatable and enriching as those on any medical or legal drama you can name Each character has dealt with some of the most sensitive problems imaginable at home while rising to the challenges of majorleague catastrophes on the job that sometimes defy the imaginationThey39re relevant The COVID pandemic has found its way into the storytelling on these shows as it has so many others So have issues involving infidelity race homophobia transphobia drug abuse child abuse spousal abuse climate change and abortion to name just a fewThey39re forwardthinking On 911 we39ve seen a couple seemingly come apart when the husband came out to his wife only to see them each find love with another and form a fully functional extended family with their kids at the center Meanwhile Lone Star has from the start explored the complexities of a tentative relationship between two young gay menamp160played by Rob Ronen Rubinstein and Rafael Silva pictured below who work together under the most demanding of circumstances along with the recovery from cancer of one first responder played by series star Rob Lowe pictured at top who became ill after prolonged work at the smoldering remains of the World Trade Center in the months following the 911 terrorist attacksThey have fun with the medium in which they are thriving Remember the great character crossovers between series in the Seventies and Eighties that turned regular episodes of favorite shows into special events The crew from Los Angelesbasedamp160911 recently dashed off to Texas to help the men and women of Lone Star battle raging wildfires In terms of regular series programming this made for the most exciting night of broadcast television to date in this wildly atypical season To be fair ABC39s Grey39s Anatomy and its spinoff Station 19 deserve crossover credit as well as do NBC39s three Chicago showsThey39re sexy too It39s only my opinion but so many of the characters on both shows have so much chemistry together that they rival the pairings on the Netflix smash Bridgerton Okay I may beamp160overreaching But still amp8230It39s worth pointing out that these two shows come from Ryan Murphy and his talented team of TV disruptors Murphy and Co are more commonly associated with edgier groundbreaking Rrated fare including FX39s American Horror Story and Pose and on Netflix the drama series Ratched the limited series Hollywood and the feature films The Boys in the Band and The Prom Murphy who previously lit up Fox with Glee has as much comparative creative freedom as he could ask for when working in the cable streaming and theatrical arenas and would seem to be constricted by the rules and restrictions of broadcast television But 911 and Lone Star prove this isn39t so Truly talented content creators can do great work anywhereAmid the multiple narrative crises of the week both shows maintain a genuinely entertaining balance between high drama and sweet humor while unashamedly stretching boundaries and pushing envelopes with the best of them Broadcast television is the better for it And to think when I first heard of 911 my mind went right to the crusty classic Emergency911 is telecast Mondays at 8 pm on Fox It is followed at 9 pm by 911 Lone StarOur own Ainsley Andrade called both of these shows back when they began Revisit his reviews of 911 and 911 Lone Star for moreClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

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Fox's "9-1-1" Double Feature Is a Broadcast Blast

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