9-1-1’s highly anticipated crossover with The Bachelor ended surprisingly when Buck (Oliver Stark) locked lips with Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.).
In the aftermath, plenty of fans have taken to social media to air their thoughts on the development, and now, Stark is speaking out about the response.
The actor, who has been with the show since its series premiere, said he’s “humbled and overwhelmed by the positive reaction to Buck’s storyline” in a new Instagram story.
The 32-year-old said he’d been reading fan messages and “couldn’t be prouder.”
Stark then addressed members of the “smaller group of people” commenting on his posts that the romantic twist has “ruined the show.”
“I would like you to know that I truly don’t care,” he affirmed before stating that the series has always been “about love and inclusion.”
Oliver Stark says 9-1-1 has always had love and inclusion
He pointed out that the show has had “queer relationships from the very beginning, including a beautiful Black lesbian marriage played by two of the best actresses I’ve ever watched.”
Stark went on to add that he believes that those taking issue with Buck “realizing his bisexuality” may have missed the “entire point of the show.”
The romantic development occurred during the 100th episode of the series, which picked up with the 118 racing to the Bachelor Mansion after a woman glued herself to the driveway.
Joey Graziadei and Jesse Palmer were along for the crossover, which featured many members of the 118 trying to get spoilers about the next Bachelor.
Tommy was initially introduced as an adversary of Buck
Buck’s new love interest, Tommy, was introduced as the helicopter pilot who saved Bobby and Athena from the cruise ship disaster that kicked off 9-1-1 Season 7.
Initially, Buck was shown to be jealous of Tommy’s burgeoning friendship with Eddie (Ryan Guzman) but all of the tension came to a head when Tommy showed up at Buck’s apartment to find out what was going on.
The scene ended with Tommy kissing Buck and asking him to go on a date with him later that week.
Buck and Tommy’s date hits a snag
Buck was taken aback but accepted the invitation. The teaser for 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 5 shows the pair on their date, only for Eddie to walk in.
Did Tommy tell Eddie where they would be at that time, or was it purely coincidental?
That’s a question we’ll be pondering until the episode airs.
The good news is that 9-1-1 has been renewed for Season 8 at ABC, so Buck’s new storyline is poised to continue into next season.
9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC. Full episodes are available to stream on Hulu.