9-1-1 is back, and Jennifer Love Hewitt may return as well. She’s been absent from the show for months. But per teases, her character Maddie Kendall, may make another appearance. 9-1-1 returns to Fox Monday, March 21, at 8 p.m. ET. Maddie disappeared during an October 2021 episode of the Fox series that puts frontline workers on the map. Her character leaves her and boyfriend Howie “Chimney” Han’s (Kenneth Choi) daughter, Jee-Yun, at the firehouse. In the episode, her character explains that their child was not safe with her since she was battling postpartum depression.
Fans have been concerned that her character wouldn’t return to the show. In Jan. 2022, Hewiitt explained that her character would be back during Season 5. The show returns Monday, March 21. “Oh Maddie how I have missed you,” Hewitt captioned a set of Instagram selfies. “Since you’ve been gone we both have changed. But coming back together feels good. See you guys in March. @911onfox.”
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Hewitt, who starred in the I Know What You Did Last Summer series, opened up in August 2019 about how her role on 9-1-1 has impacted her children. Since her breakthrough in the 90s, she’s become an icon of sorts.
“[My daughter was] studying emergency situations in school the other day and she was like, ‘Oh, if you get in an emergency situation, just call my mommy. She’s not going to help you. She’s going to send someone else to do it,’ and I was like, ‘Thanks a lot, babe,’” she told Us Weekly at the time. “She asked me, ‘How come you always answer the phone, but you don’t actually help anyone?’”
Despite Hewitt’s drama, the show is thriving. Its lead actress, Angela Bassett, is earning a record high. TV Line reports that Bassett earns “north of $450,000 an episode.” This now allegedly makes her the highest-paid actress ever for an actress of color on a broadcast drama series.
