‘9-1-1’s Kenneth Choi Isn't Happy About that Dirty Character Death, Either

By Dustin Rowles | News | April 21, 2025

Header Image Source: ABC

Spoilers for ‘9-1-1’

Peter Krause’s Bobby Nash was unexpectedly killed off the series last week, with three episodes remaining in the season. The decision to kill off the Captain of the 118 and the father figure of the series feels completely baffling. It sounds like it was not a financial decision but a “creative choice,” one that Peter Krause did not necessarily agree with, and for good reason.

He’s not the only actor on the show struggling to make sense of the death. “It was uncontrollable sobbing,” Kenneth Choi, who plays Chim on the series, told Entertainment Weekly of his reaction to the script. “I was laughing at myself, saying, ‘I don’t know what is happening! I know this isn’t real! Why am I acting like this?’ But it was devastating to me.”

Choi’s not alone. It was devastating to the audience, too, not just because the character died but because the show won’t be the same without Krause. He may not have been the heart (Chim) or the soul (Buck) of the series, but he was its emotional core.

Choi even said that he debated showrunner Tim Minear about the decision. “This doesn’t make any sense,” he thought. “Why would you do that? You’re kind of killing off our father figure… And [Minear] explained creatively why he thought it was the right choice, and I fought him on it. And I continued to fight him on it. I fought him on it up until we kind of did the funeral stuff, because I was thinking: Maybe they’ll pull it back. Maybe they’ll change their minds. Maybe they’ll reverse course.”

They did not reverse course. The funeral for Bobby Nash will be held in this week’s episode. “I don’t think Peter imagined this ending right now,” Choi said. “But I think, as it was presented to him, he understood creatively what it could do for everyone else.”

I’m not so sure about that, either. They’ve already cycled through this storyline when Nash retired as Captain of the 118 last season. There was some brief discussion of who would take over before they brought in a new captain, who made everyone miserable until Nash returned and reclaimed his old position. Now, the series is going to have to go through that process again, so soon after Nash’s brief retirement. And it’s still unclear if there’s anyone within the 118 well-suited to take over as Captain, and anyone the series brings in will almost certainly fall short of filling Bobby Nash’s shoes. So, if that was the creative choice Tim Minear wanted to explore, then… good job?

For what it’s worth, Aisha Hinds had only the loveliest things to say about Krause after his character’s departure. This is clearly not something the cast wanted.