‘9-1-1’: Jennifer Love Hewitt Shares Details About New Character

Jennifer Love Hewitt is ready to introduce 9-1-1‘s newest operator to the world.

The actress joins the cast of the Fox first responder drama for its second season and offered the first details on her new character during the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday.

Hewitt will play Maddie, the sister of Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark), who has “had a little bit of a tough time in her life,” as she puts it.

The character will be introduced as she is fresh out of an abusive relationship, TVLine reports. “She comes to her brother pretty broken… and needing to start over,” Hewitt added.

With Buck’s help, the former nurse becomes a 911 call-center operator in an effort to “figure out who she really is, and then hopefully help other people.”

She also revealed her character will be sticking along for a while on the series.

“As long as the show is here, hopefully I will be here… as long as I don’t screw it up,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt, along with new series regular Ryan Guzman, joins the cast after Connie Britton left the show at the end of the first season.

“We love Connie Britton, [but] it was always envisioned to be a one-year role,” Fox chairman Gary Newman told reporters at the TCAs Thursday. “So it wasn’t a surprise [that she left]. If Connie expressed interest and had time in the future, I know [executive producer] Ryan [Murphy] would be thrilled to bring her back to the show.”

This will be Hewitt’s first role in a movie or TV show since she left Criminal Minds in 2015 after a one-season stint.

Before that, she guest-starred in episodes of Hot in Cleveland and headlined her own Lifetime series, The Client List. She also starred in CBS’ Ghost Whisperer for five seasons from 2005 to 2010 and in Fox’s Party of Five from 1995 to 1999. Her film credits include Heartbreakers, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Truth About Love and Garfield.

9-1-1 was a surprise hit for Fox after its midseason debut in January. The show averaged 14.9 million total viewers across different platforms and was among the top three new shows for the network. Thanks to its early success, the show was picked up for a second season less than a week after its premiere.

The series will return for its second season with a two-night premiere starting Sunday, Sept. 23 immediately after an NFL on Fox Doubleheader — around 8 p.m. ET — on Fox.