For many viewers who grew up watching Jennifer Love Hewitt in “Party of Five,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” and “Ghost Whisperer,” her current role on “9-1-1” represents something more personal. As Maddie Buckley, a former nurse who becomes an emergency dispatcher, Hewitt brings a steadiness to a character who’s been through unimaginable loss and continues to show up for others.
Now in its eighth season, “9-1-1” remains one of network television’s most enduring dramas. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, the series follows the lives of Los Angeles first responders—dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, and police officers—as they manage crises at work and at home. The main cast includes Angela Bassett as Sergeant Athena Grant, Peter Krause as Captain Bobby Nash, Oliver Stark as firefighter Evan “Buck” Buckley, Aisha Hinds as paramedic Henrietta “Hen” Wilson, and Kenneth Choi as firefighter Howie “Chimney” Han. Amid the large-scale emergencies and dramatic rescues, it’s the show’s quieter character arcs that leave a lasting impact—and Maddie Buckley’s journey stands out.
Since joining the show in Season 2, Hewitt has portrayed Maddie through some of the most emotionally wrenching storylines on the series. From surviving an abusive relationship to grappling with postpartum depression and being kidnapped twice—including a harrowing recent arc that left her character chained in a basement—Maddie’s arc has reflected both trauma and resilience.
“I feel like Maddie came to me at the right time,” Hewitt shares. “I don’t know that I would have been able to play her the way that I do now if it had happened earlier for me. I needed to play Maddie as an adult who’s had real experiences.”
Hewitt’s portrayal of Maddie reflects a woman who’s survived intense trauma but refuses to be reduced to it. The show has explored her experiences with domestic violence, postpartum depression, and professional burnout, and Hewitt grounds those arcs in quiet strength. “She gets knocked down… but she’s a fighter,” Hewitt says. “She’s a feral alley cat, as I call her. She’s scrappy. She’s got gumption. And she will always survive.”
One of the most quietly beautiful aspects of Maddie’s arc is her interracial relationship with firefighter Howie Han, better known as Chimney. That pairing, it turns out, was something Hewitt advocated for early on. “On my very first day of work, Tim [Minear] randomly asked me, ‘What else do you want to do on the show?’ And I said, ‘I want Maddie and Chimney to be together,’” she recalls. “They’re both so broken, but they’re sunshine for people. They have so much goodness and they deserve so much goodness.” The resulting storyline not only deepened both characters but offered one of primetime’s most grounded portrayals of an interracial relationship—an impact not lost on viewers.
Jennifer Love Hewitt spoke with Awards Focus about Maddie’s growth, navigating some of the show’s most emotional episodes, and what the role has revealed to her about herself.
Awards Focus: How did your past roles help prepare you for a character like Maddie?
Jennifer Love Hewitt: I feel like Maddie came to me at the right time. I don’t know that I would’ve been able to play her the way I do now if it had happened earlier. I think I needed to play Maddie as an adult—someone who’s had real experiences and a little time to play these other people that I can, you know, sort of bring to her.
AF: You’ve talked about the longevity of the character and how television makes that kind of a unique experience. What do you think it is about “9-1-1” and the characters that give it such staying power?
Hewitt: I know, it’s wild. You know, I think for me, it’s similar to what I felt about “Ghost Whisperer” and Melinda in that show. I feel like “9-1-1” is able to attach to your heart in a really unique way. When I think about emergency situations and how often those are a part of our existence—and everybody in their lifetime will have probably one, if not multiple, emergency situations—either with friends or loved ones or themselves…
The one thing about those situations is, who is that person that’s going to be there for me? Who’s going to be taking care of me? Who’s going to sit with me until my family gets to the hospital? And so often in real life, you don’t get to know who those people are. It’s done in a second. It’s a dispatcher on the phone who then disconnects with you and you never meet them again. There’s no face to that. It’s a fireman who pulls you from your home, and then they’re gone off to do something else heroic.
So I feel like “9-1-1” has something special because in some way, watching it, you feel like you get to know who those people might be. It gives those people more humanity, and I know for me—even during the fires in the Palisades—having been on “9-1-1,” I looked at first responders differently. I looked at them through a new lens. I wondered how their families were dealing with the fact that they were out helping us. I thought about Maddie and Chimney. I thought about who was attached to those heroes. And I think that’s what people like about “9-1-1″—you get to know those people.
In the world today, where we’re all on social media and it’s kind of a solitary existence, “9-1-1” says, come in and know these people. And then when something happens in your life, maybe those responders won’t feel so much like strangers.
AF: Speaking of the fires—because it’s still so recent—have you had conversations with first responders since then? What do they say to you about the show?
Hewitt: Yeah, I was able to thank a couple of them. A few first responders have come up to me and said, “Hey, I know that you were in the Palisades, and we did our best.” And I’m like, “You did beyond your best.”
I feel such a full heart when I see first responders now. After eight years, hopefully I understand more about their existence and what they sacrifice to keep us all safe in all the ways they do that.
I think that they feel honored by the show. We try really hard to do things to the best of our ability, to honor them and what they do. The first responders I’ve talked to have really liked it. I always get funny calls or DMs from actual dispatchers who are like, “Maddie really cries a lot for those callers.”
And I’m always like, yeah, I don’t know that that’s 100% accurate—but it’s TV and that’s how Maddie feels! They always give me a hard time. They’re like, “If I cried that much at work, I’d get in so much trouble.”
AF: That’s really funny. You’ve obviously played a lot of roles and a lot of different arcs, but the last few episodes have been incredibly emotional. How do you prepare for those heavier scenes? And has that evolved for you over time?
Hewitt: I mean, I think for me on this show—and I truly mean this—Tim writes Maddie and has created a character that is so easy to slip into for me. There isn’t a lot of preparation. He really puts who she is, how she’s feeling, and the situations she’s in on the page. All I have to do is look at that and connect into it. It just sort of happens.
I try not to overthink it, because then you start worrying—“Is it going to happen? Will it go the way I want it to?” My friends always make fun of me—“What was your prep today?” And I’m like, “I didn’t prep. I watched ‘Vampire Diaries’ in my trailer. I ate some snacks. I went in and did it.”
But again, that’s because Tim writes an incredible character and trusts me with her. There’ve been a couple times where I’ve texted or called him—“Are you sure you trust me to do this?” Like the phone call with the serial killer. I was like, “Are you sure I can pull this off?” And he’s like, “You got this.”
Maddie is a true empath. A lost soul just trying to figure out where she fits in the world. She finds safety in helping other people. And she’s constantly faced with the fact that her empathy overrides common sense—she doesn’t always know who the bad guy is until it’s too late. But that’s my favorite thing to play on the show.
AF: And one of the things people love about your character is her resilience. How much of that is coming from the script, and how much of it are you shaping from your own experience?
Hewitt: I think it’s both.
Tim makes her a very resilient person, but I also work really hard—no matter what situation she’s in—to play her with strength. Because I want women watching to remember who we are. Women are very resilient. We are challenged a lot in our lifetimes and counted out numerous times—easily before we should be.
So my goal with Maddie is to show that yes, she gets knocked down. She gets tricked. She gets kidnapped. She gets her throat slashed. She gets all the things. But at the end of the day, she’s a fighter. She’s a feral alley cat—as I call her to my own little person. She’s scrappy. She’s got gumption. And she will always survive. I love playing people like that because I think they’re really inspiring.
AF: Talk about inspiring—one of the things I’m passionate about is Asian American representation in film and television. The relationship you have with Howie, a.k.a. Chimney has been a fan favorite. It’s a beautiful step forward for representation. What has it meant to you to be part of a storyline that features a grounded interracial relationship like that? And did the feedback surprise you?
Hewitt: Yeah, it has been so beautiful. It’s such a neat thing.
It’s really interesting—on my very first day of work playing Maddie, Tim randomly asked me, “What else do you want to do on the show?” And I was like, “I want Maddie and Chimney to be together.” He was like, “What?” And I said, “There’s just something about him for her. They’re both so broken, but they’re sunshine for people. They have so much goodness, and they deserve so much goodness. They just fit.”
And Tim was game. So we did it. And it just worked. Kenny is one of my favorite human beings in the entire universe. And Maddie and Chimney go through so much, but they deserve so much. They’ve saved each other’s lives. Her having him does the same. It’s really beautiful.
People started coming up to me saying, “Thank you for this storyline.” And that just touched my heart. It’s beautiful to see people rooting for us in that way. Being part of that story and that small change on TV—it’s really beautiful. I just love it.
AF: I think all the Asian men out there are grateful. Jennifer Love Hewitt is still everyone’s crush. And here she is choosing to be with an Asian man. You don’t know how much that means to the community.
Hewitt: I’m so glad. I really meant it. And it’s just been really beautiful. Maddie and Chimney are a magical little couple. I love them so much.
AF: Looking back at this past season, is there a moment or scene that stands out as one of the most challenging to film—and maybe one you’re most proud of?
Hewitt: Probably the most challenging of the season was the stuff in the basement with the kidnapper. Physically, it was really hard. I hurt myself a lot. The chains were real. I was really chained to the floor. Every time I did something, I got bruised or banged up.
But also, we wanted to show Maddie’s growth from the Big Bear kidnapping. This Maddie is a mother now. She’s fought to save her own life. She’s stronger. So we wanted to show what happens when you put that woman in a basement. That’s why I played her so much more angry and screaming. There was no way she was not getting out of there.
And then there was the phone call scene where Maddie had to convince someone to take their own life. That was probably the hardest scene I’ve done on the show—ever. I worried a lot about how people would take it. That scene had to be rewritten to include a reference to Ji-Yoon. That helped me. It grounded it in something maternal and protective. But it was really difficult.
AF: Of Maddie’s traits, which are you most like—and which are you least like?
Hewitt: I’m definitely an empath, like her. I get her need to help everybody and be in people’s business. Definitely that.
Where we’re different—I’d like to think I have better instincts about people. Hopefully. I probably would’ve gotten out of her situations a lot earlier. And I definitely wouldn’t have been doing dishes with my back to the door while it was unlocked.
I might have bigger trust issues than Maddie.
AF: Last question for you—when your journey with “9-1-1” eventually wraps, what do you want people to take away from Maddie? And where does she fit in your career among all the iconic characters you’ve played?
Hewitt: Thank you for that. I feel like Maddie is all the inside parts of me that I’ve maybe never given before. She’s all the darkness and pain and fear and anxiety that I’ve kept for myself until now. I’ve given them to Maddie.
And the audience knows that. They feel it. She’s raw and open. I’ve really embraced the not-so-sunny, not-so-soft, not-so-easily-digestible parts of myself and given them to her. It’s been such a personal payoff. And I think the audience has really liked it too, which is awesome.
AF: Yeah, absolutely. No one’s kicking you out—your Jennifer Love Hewitt renaissance is in full swing. It was lovely to talk to you. Good luck with the rest of the season.
Hewitt: Thank you so much.