9-1-1's Oliver Stark Reacts to News of Connie Britton's Impending Return: 'She Was Really Hard to Replace'

Andy Swift

It’s the question on every 9-1-1 fan’s mind: Now that we know Connie Britton’s Abby Clark is returning to the Fox procedural for several episodes in the back half of Season 3, does that also mean she’ll rekindle her romance with Buck?

The news was still fresh when TVLine caught up with Buck’s portrayer, Oliver Stark, at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif., but that didn’t stop him from speculating what the future could hold for Buck’s love life… with or without his estranged ex-girlfriend.

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“I think it’s really hard,” Stark admitted. “So many people in that first season fell in love with the relationship between Buck and Abby, so she was really hard to replace. And Buck has had so much growth since then. [Moving forward, it will be] about finding the right partner for him. A lot of people have different ideas about who that could be, whether they’re on the show already. I don’t know what [Abby’s return] means. I don’t know what that’s going to stir up. But it’s teasing at stuff, which is always fun.”

As fans will recall, Buck hasn’t been in a long-term relationship since Abby left for Europe at the end of Season 1 (unless you count Ali, which we don’t). And although many fans have rallied behind the idea of Buck becoming romantically involved with Eddie (played by Ryan Guzman), nothing is certain.

“I don’t know where the story is going,” Stark recently told fans on Twitter. “I have always spoken openly about how amazing I think it is that you are invested in [Buck and Eddie], and I totally support that. But I feel uneasy about RT’ing stuff, because I know it can sometimes come across as me confirming something is going to happen. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.”

But even if “Buddie” never comes to fruition, fans can keep an eye out for a pretty intense action sequence involving Buck and Eddie in the show’s midseason premiere (exact date TBD).

“In the first episode back, I got to have a real Tom Cruise moment, or what felt like one,” Stark told TVLine. “Eddie and Buck basically end up surfing on the firetrucks while they’re driving down this airport runway, and they’re just holding on for dear life while they try to catch somebody from the sky. It felt very cool. I hope it looks as cool as I felt doing it.”

Are you excited to see Britton back on 9-1-1? Are you hoping Buck and Abby give things another try, or are you ready to see him move on with someone new? Drop a comment with your thoughts below. Reporting by Matt Mitovich

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