Angela Bassett is saying what we’ve all been thinking about 911’s Athena popping up on Doctor Odyssey and why her on-screen husband won't be joining her!
ABC is no stranger to TV crossovers. We’ve seen it a lot between Grey’s Anatomy and its spinoffs like Station 19. Likewise, The Rookie had a few with its short-lived spin-off The Rookie: Feds. However, one of the most unusual is coming on Thursday, March 20 as 911’s Athena (Angela Bassett) boards Doctor Odyssey for an appearance.
Would Athena really step on a cruise again in 911?
For many fans, the big question isn’t how the two shows connect. It’s why in the hell Athena would ever want to board a boat again. When 911 moved to ABC from Fox in 2024, it opened with an epic three-part Season 7 premiere when Athena and husband Bobby (Peter Krause) went on a cruise ship only to be attacked by pirates, hitting a massive storm and the boat sinking around them.
Given that, it's hard to imagine Athena wanting to take another cruise. In fact, it's difficult to see her taking any sort of trip as Season 8 had her on a plane that nearly crashed. The character's openly joked she's just going to stay home on vacations.
As it happens, Bassett agrees with fans. Talking to TVLine, the actress related the original idea was simply Athena and Bobby trying another cruise but she immediately objected.
“I was like, that doesn’t make sense. Athena would never get back on a boat again. I just can’t imagine what would get her back on board, other than to go on, turn around and come right back off. [That experience is] still fresh in the cells of her body. It’s very anxiety provoking for Athena to be on that boat for any amount of time.”
So with that said, why and how is Athena boarding the Odyssey?
What puts Athena on the ship in Doctor Odyssey
With Krause not on board (literally), the writers reworked it to Athena being pushed to be on the ship as the FBI needs her to track a suspected pair of thieves. That gives her a chance to rock a nice red dress at the casino.
Bassett also hinted that while Athena (and herself) won’t be boarding a ship, maybe two other 911 characters could benefit from a trip.
“I think Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) would enjoy a cruise. Everyone is deserving, but on these cruises they have these lovely places for kids to hang out all day while the grownups have their good time with gambling or entertainment or whatever. I think they would enjoy that.”
Of course, this being 911, the chances of Maddie and Chimney enjoying a peaceful cruise are pretty low. Let's face it, vacations almost never work out well for the members of the 118.
One can only hope Athena’s trip on Doctor Odyssey doesn’t go any worse yet there’s good reason to worry about her ever boarding a boat.
Doctor Odyssey airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.