This ‘9-1-1’ Character Came Out as Gay—Just Like Fans Wanted

As someone who grew up with a Tumblr blog dedicated to Teen Wolf, Supernatural, and Glee, I spent most of my adolescence exploring the queer potential of various shows—just like any queer kid who spent time in fandom spaces. These shows all alluded to some of their most beloved characters being queer, and only some of them actually followed through. This is called queerbaiting, a term which refers to when shows and their creators use queer coding to keep viewers’ attention, without ever fully actualizing these relationships. Despite this, there’s one show, perhaps the most surprising of all the shows to have ever queer baited its audience, that has finally put its money where its mouth is.

Celebrating its 100th episode on April 4, ABC’s 9-1-1 did the unthinkable: it made the long-speculated queerness of Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) a reality. Since his introduction in the popular (and notably wacky) first-responder drama’s first episode, Buck has been the topic of much speculation within the fandom. Namely, his relationship with his co-worker Edmundo “Eddie” Díaz (Ryan Guzman) has been the backdrop of fanfiction and fancams that deserve to be hung up in the Louvre.

“There’s intimacy, vulnerability and a deep trust in that relationship,” Miya, a 24-year-old who binged the entire show in 2022, tells The Daily Beast of their affection for Buck and Eddie. “Their chemistry is electric and palpable.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.